Linux World domination (was Re: [NCLUG] PC for Linux (Ubuntu))

[Chad Perrin]

On Fri, Sep 19, 2008 at 04:07:04PM -0600, Brett Johnson wrote:
> On Fri, 2008-09-19 at 12:51 -0600, Chad Perrin wrote:
> >   2. I'm surprised at the way this discussion has, in several branchings
> >   from the main trunk, gone from referring to Free/Libre/Open Source
> >   software to specifically talking about the GPL.
> 
> For my part, it's sheer laziness.  The GPL is highly representative of
> "freed" software licenses that we're talking about (I don't think even
> John could find something evil and sinister, hell-bent on destroying the
> programming profession, in the BSD license -- especially since Microsoft
> itself, along with Apple have taken nice advantage of the BSD license to
> profit from other FLOSS programmers' work.).

Actually, John Bass has on at least one occasion referred to the BSD
license and the GPL in the same breath, as part of a counterargument in
this overall thread of debate.  As I recall (off the top of my head), in
that instance he specifically differentiated between public domain as a
means of "freeing" software on one hand, and "restrictive" licenses such
as the BSD license and the GPL on the other.

I must admit I was mystified by this characterization of the BSD license
as "restrictive" (or whatever form of the word "restrict" he used),
however.


> 
> Anyway, I tend to generalize these kinds of discussions about FLOSS
> licensing towards the GPL, for the same reason I refer to my operating
> system as "Linux", instead of "GNU-GNOME-Mozilla-Compiz-Mplayer-Linux".
> It's easier that way, and most people get it anyway :)

I prefer to stick to terms such as "open source", "FLOSS", et cetera,
unless and until there is some reason to get more specific.  When one
immediately replaces "FLOSS" with "GPL in discussion, the discussion
tends to become more about copyleft than about open source -- which is a
different debate entirely from the one about open source development
models and the ethical consequences of strong copyright enforcement.

-- 
Chad Perrin [ content licensed PDL: http://pdl.apotheon.org ]
James Madison: "If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be
in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."
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