*BSD News Article 38810


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From: nate@bsd.coe.montana.edu (Nate Williams)
Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.misc
Subject: Re: Is FreeBSD free?
Date: 2 Dec 1994 17:47:53 GMT
Organization: Montana State University, Bozeman  Montana
Lines: 36
Message-ID: <3bnmk9$g33@pdq.coe.montana.edu>
References: <1994Dec2.033418.18026@mcshub.dcss.mcmaster.ca>
NNTP-Posting-Host: bsd.coe.montana.edu

In article <1994Dec2.033418.18026@mcshub.dcss.mcmaster.ca>,
Kovarik     RP <cs4gp6an@maccs.mcmaster.ca> wrote:
>The subject says it all.

[ ooh, I'm gonna hate myself for this one, but it's been so long.... ]

FreeBSD is about as free as you can get, aside from PD.  With Linux you
are forced to give away any changes you make to the OS, and you can't
provide binary distributions UNLESS you offer to provide source code to
it.

With FreeBSD, you can do *ANYTHING* you want to it EXCEPT claim that you
wrote it (with some exceptions).  You can print out almost all of the
source code and make a blanket with it, you can print out the binaries
and make a bedspread with it.  You can give out the blanket and/or
bedspread and not have to worry about someone asking for another copy of
your bedspread if the person you gave it to showed it off.

You can start your own bedspread business, and although your competitors
can get the same stuff you can get (FreeBSD will continue to be free as
long as though in charge have anything to say about it), you can modify
the source to have different patterns when printed, and those never
*have* to be shared.  

However, because we were nice guys and gave away that cool operating
system, if those patterns are *REALLY* cool and you aren't adverse to
sharing them we'd appreciate you sending the changes back to us.  But,
we aren't forcing you into doing that.


Nate
-- 
nate@bsd.coe.montana.edu     |  FreeBSD dude and all around tech.
nate@cs.montana.edu          |  weenie.
work #: (406) 994-4836       |  Unemployed, looking for permanant work in
home #: (406) 586-0579       |  CS/EE field.