Re: GNU License and Computer Break Ins
On 19-May-00, 15:27 (CDT), Paul Serice <serice@bigfoot.com> wrote:
> Then I wake up one day to learn that GPL isn't what I thought it was.
> Well, its social reach extended further than I thought it did. It seems
> to be about making sure that the community immediately has access to the
> source code to the exclusion of almost any other consideration.
It's been said over and over again by several people that:
GPL != Free Software.
GPL != RMS social/political program, assuming he has one.
It's also been explain over and over again using and modifying GPL'd
code does not require that you distribute your modifications. What it
requires is that *if* you *choose* to distribute your modified version,
that you must make the source to those modifications available under
the GPL, so that others may learn and grow from the work that you did,
just as you learned and grew from the work the original author(s) did. I
don't find that an onerous requirement.
> If I believe it is perfectly fine for software authors to keep their
> software locked up if that's what they choose to do, does that mean I
> should not be a Debian developer? Must not be a Debian developer?
I believe that it is perfectly fine for a software author to do whatever
the hell they want with their code, and I intend to stay a Debian
developer. I don't consider such a belief to be contrary to the DFSG. I
also believe that free software is *better* than proprietary software,
for both ethical and practical considerations. Thus I endorse the goals
of Debian, and am comfortable as a Debian developer, and willing to
contribute my time.
> Does it matter that I personally believe that giving out source -- if
> that is what the author chooses to do -- is a good thing because it
> furthers education?
That means that you probably are comfortable with at least some of
the goals of Debian. OTOH, you disagree with some things that RMS has
said. Like it or not, RMS is one of free software's leading figures,
and things he says are going to be quoted and evaluated. If you are
going to work in free software, you may be forced to defend or discuss
or repudiate those statements. If you can deal with that, great. If you
can't, then you probably need to find some other way to spend your time.
I find some of the things that ESR says and does disagreeable. I don't
think Larry Wall's religious views match mine. That's okay.
Note that you can work in free software and never ever release anything
under the GPL. Many people do.
Steve
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