Re: License is a non-issue? -- LINUX5250


On 8 Feb 2002, Steve Fox wrote:
>
> The GPL may be more strict, causing code mixing headaches, but there is
> reason for it. Not all developers are willing to willing to let some fly
> by night company [1] (or a large 800 lb gorilla) come by, swoop up their
> code, make a few tweaks to it, then sell it for big bucks while not
> giving any credit to the original developers and never contributing any
> code back.

The BSD license _does_ require that you give credit to the original
developers, because it requires that if you distribute it "with or without
modifications" that you reproduce the original copyright and disclaimer.

It's true that you can take something written with the BSD license, make a
modification, and then sell it for big bucks...  However, you can also do
that with the LGPL.  You can even do it with the GPL, but you have to
charge for "support" or "transfer", rather than for coding...  but it all
amounts to the same thing in the end.

>
> The GPL truly is a defense mechanism. If the other authors don't mind
> the above scenario, then the BSD license would be a good choice. On the
> other hand, the LGPL is a very nice balance which will solve all the
> distribution problems, without giving up the farm to whomever wants to
> harvest your code.
>

I'm willing to use the LGPL.  It's just not my first choice.

> [1] Remember the Everybuddy instant messenger fiasco? Or the VirtualDub
> fiasco? tn5250 probably isn't sexy enough for this to happen, but they
> illustrate a valid example of how Open Source code can be used abused by
> companies out to make a quick buck.
>

Everybuddy and VirtualDub are both GPLed packages.  You seem to be
implying that they would've been safe against the problems they
encountered if they'd used the GPL -- but the fact is, they DID use the
GPL.

In fact, in both of these cases, they were lucky.  If someone took the
code for tn5250, and created a proprietary software from it, what are the
odds that we'd ever find out about it?   If you removed the comments,
changed a few variable names, and ran it through a code beautifier,
there'd be no hope of us ever discovering that the code was stolen.

Sure, using a license like the GPL makes this illegal.  But that only
keeps the honest people from doing it!

At least by releasing it under the BSD license, they'd have less incentive
to rip us off, and more incentive to cooperate...

But, we could argue about licenses for the rest of the year and not get
anywhere.  I'm okay with the LGPL or GPL or BSD or Apache or Mozilla
licenses...  Just please don't tell me that all the code I've done on my
own time, without pay, frequently until 3:00 in the morning, needs to be
discarded because of some technicality in the GPL.

Let's get the license fixed and move on.

Does anyone know how to get in touch with Mr. Madore?   I assume that he's
not reading these messages, since he hasn't said anything.