Boston Linux & UNIX was originally founded in 1994 as part of The Boston Computer Society. We meet on the third Wednesday of each month at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Building E51.

BLU Discuss list archive


[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

[Discuss] Why use Linux?



This is turning into yet another copy of the same old tired argument that
we'll never agree on. One definition of insanity is repeatedly doing the
same thing and expecting different results, and this argument certainly
qualifies as such.

I think it would be best if we drop it at this point.


On Tue, Feb 11, 2014 at 8:37 PM, Richard Pieri <richard.pieri at gmail.com>wrote:

> Robert Krawitz wrote:
>
>> Actually, I'd say that if anything the GPL is weighted toward
>> users-as-developers -- ensuring that users can be developers
>> themselves.
>>
>
> At the expense of the original developers.
>
> Try this on for size (this also addresses Mark's point and the other
> Mark's failure to read all the words). Say I write a POP3 library for GNU
> Emacs. Say that instead of signing over the rights to the FSF I instead
> decide to sell it under the GPL. You buy my library. The terms of the GPL
> require me to provide you with the source code, which I do. You then turn
> around and sell that same code on the open market.
>
> This is Mark's point: the GPL does not allow me to reserve exclusive sales
> rights. That would be more restrictive than the GPL itself and therefore is
> not permitted by the GPL.
>
> This is tangentially my point: you as a non-developer end user get to
> profit from my work with minimal or no effort of your own.
>
> It doesn't matter what you say. What matters is the terms of the license
> and the protections those terms afford. The terms of the GPL have always
> been heavily weighted against commercial developers of all sorts and not
> just the proprietary ones.
>
> --
> Rich P.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Discuss mailing list
> Discuss at blu.org
> http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>



-- 
John Abreau / Executive Director, Boston Linux & Unix
Email: abreauj at gmail.com / WWW http://www.abreau.net / PGP-Key-ID 0x920063C6
PGP-Key-Fingerprint A5AD 6BE1 FEFE 8E4F 5C23  C2D0 E885 E17C 9200 63C6



BLU is a member of BostonUserGroups
BLU is a member of BostonUserGroups
We also thank MIT for the use of their facilities.

Valid HTML 4.01! Valid CSS!



Boston Linux & Unix / webmaster@blu.org