Open Sourcers Drop Software Religion for Common Sense
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Re: Open Sourcers Drop Software Religion for Common Sense
#2The "practicality" argument doesn't hold water with me: none of it matters without freedom. If you care about code, the GPL gives you freedom by requiring that people give back in the manner they take: with code. It is only necessary because people weren't giving back.
I can understand that someone might want to shirk the quid-pro-quo responsibilities of the GPL, but I won't be paying for that kind of anti-social product.
Re: Open Sourcers Drop Software Religion for Common Sense
#3This is an unfortunate pan of GPL and a clearly business-sided discussion of licensing. Developers use GPL to keep their work in the open and encourages everyone working on a project to share their work. On the other hand, "permissive" licenses are well received by businesses because the work produced under BSD-like licenses are perceived as "free labor".
So here's the rub. Businesses want free labor, but they want to be paid by their customers. Is that capitalism or socialism?
Re: Open Sourcers Drop Software Religion for Common Sense
#4This is an unfortunate pan of GPL and a clearly business-sided discussion of licensing. Developers use GPL to keep their work in the open and encourages everyone working on a project to share their work. On the other hand, "permissive" licenses are well received by businesses because the work produced under BSD-like licenses are perceived as "free labor". So here's the rub. Businesses want free labor, but they want t…
It's Capitalism if the labor isn't forced. Capitalism allows for citizens to willingly participate in any sort of arrangement. Sharing is just another form or voluntary participation in the system.
Socialism uses the monopolistic threat of violence and incarceration to force arrangements predetermined by the State.
See the difference?
Re: Open Sourcers Drop Software Religion for Common Sense
#5sigh... there goes the GPL hate again.
Re: Open Sourcers Drop Software Religion for Common Sense
#6even more pronounced when you look at web software. look at the most watched projects on Github and play spot the GPL license:
https://github.com/popular/watched
I couldn't count a single project. I have never used the GPL in any software I write because I want anybody to be able to use my software and contributions.
Google, Microsoft, Apple (who are actively purging what remains of GPL code) et al will not adapt your project for bundling or distribution or use if it is GPL. I think most developers are more interested in having users of their software than attempting to shoehorn them into some ideology, which is reflected in the license usage stats you see.
to add to that, the FSF completely screwed up v3 which likely scared away anybody who was on the fence about which way to go (it was also more to do with the anti-commercial rhetoric around the changes as it had to do with the changes themselves)
Re: Open Sourcers Drop Software Religion for Common Sense
#7The "practicality" argument doesn't hold water with me: none of it matters without freedom. If you care about code, the GPL gives you freedom by requiring that people give back in the manner they take: with code. It is only necessary because people weren't giving back. I can understand that someone might want to shirk the quid-pro-quo responsibilities of the GPL, but I won't be paying for that kind of anti-social pro…
"freedom by requiring" < see the contradiction? true freedom has no requirements or demands.
Re: Open Sourcers Drop Software Religion for Common Sense
#8even more pronounced when you look at web software. look at the most watched projects on Github and play spot the GPL license: https://github.com/popular/watched I couldn't count a single project. I have never used the GPL in any software I write because I want anybody to be able to use my software and contributions. Google, Microsoft, Apple (who are actively purging what remains of GPL code) et al will not adapt you…
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Re: Open Sourcers Drop Software Religion for Common Sense
#9The "practicality" argument doesn't hold water with me: none of it matters without freedom. If you care about code, the GPL gives you freedom by requiring that people give back in the manner they take: with code. It is only necessary because people weren't giving back. I can understand that someone might want to shirk the quid-pro-quo responsibilities of the GPL, but I won't be paying for that kind of anti-social pro…
"freedom by requiring" < see the contradiction? true freedom has no requirements or demands.
I do, but I care about CODE. Without code, I didn't GET freedom. :)
Re: Open Sourcers Drop Software Religion for Common Sense
#10The "practicality" argument doesn't hold water with me: none of it matters without freedom. If you care about code, the GPL gives you freedom by requiring that people give back in the manner they take: with code. It is only necessary because people weren't giving back. I can understand that someone might want to shirk the quid-pro-quo responsibilities of the GPL, but I won't be paying for that kind of anti-social pro…
It's the old "you can catch more flies with honey rather than vinegar".
The GPL is the strongest vinegar to businesses that may not mind participating in open source, but don't want to have their business assets dependent upon something so restrictive.
As a developer you have a trade-off decision to make: Choose the license that restricts the use of your creation in hopes that it forces others to share, or choose a license that may end up being used for private commercial reasons - but will likely be more widely adopted because it's less restrictive.
The beauty of the whole system in my mind is that each developer is free to make his own choice.