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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!nntp.coast.net!news.kei.com!news.mathworks.com!gatech2!gt-news!cc.gatech.edu!cc.gatech.edu!byron From: byron@cc.gatech.edu (Byron A Jeff) Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.advocacy,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc,comp.unix.advocacy,comp.unix.misc Subject: Re: Linux vs FreeBSD Date: 15 Dec 1995 01:35:54 GMT Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology - College of Computing Lines: 49 Message-ID: <4aqjdq$217@solaria.cc.gatech.edu> References: <489kuu$rbo@pelican.cs.ucla.edu> <4ag0pi$rqg@sundog.tiac.net> <4aianr$52o@daffy.anetsrvcs.uwrf.edu> <4alnti$peo@sundog.tiac.net> NNTP-Posting-Host: gemini.cc.gatech.edu NNTP-Posting-User: byron Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.os.linux.advocacy:31106 comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:10957 comp.unix.advocacy:12457 comp.unix.misc:20216 In article <4alnti$peo@sundog.tiac.net>, Rick Kelly <rmk@tencats.rmkhome.com> wrote: :BENJAMIN A LINDSTROM (bl03@uwrf.edu) wrote: :: Rick Kelly (rmk@rmkhome.com) wrote: :: : Erik Corry (erik@kroete2.freinet.de) wrote: :: : : You say the FreeBSD kernel is 'unencumbered with the GPL'. The GPL :: : : may be an encumberance to you, but to Linux/GNU developers, the :: : : BSD license is also an encumberance: which means you can't use :: : : BSD code in the Linux kernel or in a GPL'ed application. :: : :: : : The other major encumberance of the GPL is that noone can 'do a BSDI' :: : : with Linux, i.e. copy the code and create a private version. That's not :: : : perceived as a disadvantage by most Linux developers, in fact for many :: : : it is a prerequisite. For example, Alan Cox has stated that he does :: : : GPL development for free, but wants to be paid for development under :: : : other licenses. :: : :: : Linus has the primary copyright on the Linux kernel. He can do with it :: : what he wants, including removing it from the GPL... : :: Sorry..It's very hard to take something out of GPL once it's in it.=) :: You have to re-write all the parts that are GPLed. So this part of your :: logic is not really good.=) Try again! : :So you're saying that the GPL is basically a fascist licence? In the Hertz commercial's immortal words: 'Not Exactly'. : :Putting something under GPL causes lack of ownership for the author? You've missed two points. 1) If you release a version 1.0 under GPL you can certainly privitize version 1.1 and beyond. But you can't receind a license you grant even if you own the product licensed. You'd be obligated to support version 1.0 under the GPL. See alladin ghostscript as an example of this. 2) If a piece of work has multiple authors then all the authors must agree to change the license right? So it's not a lack of ownership just a committment to the license you issue the software under. BAJ -- Another random extraction from the mental bit stream of... Byron A. Jeff - PhD student operating in parallel - And Using Linux! Georgia Tech, Atlanta GA 30332 Internet: byron@cc.gatech.edu