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Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.advocacy,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!news.mel.connect.com.au!munnari.OZ.AU!spool.mu.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!news.sprintlink.net!news1!not-for-mail From: root@dyson.iquest.net (John S. Dyson) Subject: Re: GPL (was Re: Linux vs FreeBSD) X-Nntp-Posting-Host: dyson.iquest.net Message-ID: <4bfq0g$k8@dyson.iquest.net> Sender: news@iquest.net (News Admin) Organization: John S. Dyson's home machine References: <489kuu$rbo@pelican.cs.ucla.edu> <4b67mo$19l@dyson.iquest.net> <4bbs2d$bet@snowdon.elsevier.co.uk> <DJzAnw.87x@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca> Date: Sat, 23 Dec 1995 02:37:04 GMT Lines: 34 Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.os.linux.advocacy:31828 comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:11340 In article <DJzAnw.87x@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca>, Viet-Trung Luu <vluu@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca> wrote: > >Well, I'm not... as far as I can see, it should be up to the programmer >(which license to choose). > Excellent -- this is one of the best comments that I have seen so far in this discussion. Specifically, it then becomes important that the programmer understand the ramifications of the license terms. This is what I see this discussion is about. IT SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN AS ANTI-LINUX or ANTI-BSD, but as additional input as to the license terms that the programmer might use. Let me say one thing, before I was educated on the terms of the GPL license, I thought that it was the "neatest thing since sliced bread". It does have some unpleasant side-effects (of course so does BSD copyright), but those side-effects should be understood before applying a copyright that could eventually take away the original authors right to use the (modified GPL) code in certain applications. To some people, it is a non-issue, and the GPL is fine... To me, some of the terms of GPL disqualifies it for my use. To take this thread as "Linux/BSD is bad because of GPL/BSD"is not the right way to see it. (In fact, I don't take things like that personally but try to correct sometimes patently incorrect conclusions.) It would best be "Linux/BSD has restrictions on it's use because of certain license terms" is the RIGHT way to see it. Now, more programmers who write code might have a better understand as to the issues of copyright and license terms. John Dyson dyson@freebsd.org