Re: Bitkeeper outrage, old and new

Larry McVoy
2002-10-19T23:06:03Z

> Freedom includes
> for me that I can use any software that I have legally licensed (or
> written myself) without people complaining about it publically.
>
> You are asking for the power to silence criticism. That is not
> freedom, that is a power.

Richard, the day that the GPL doesn't use it's power to force people to
do things they may not want to do is the day that you get to make the
above statement in public without getting flamed. Today is not that day.

Just admit that the GPL forces people to do things just the same as a
traditional license forces people to do things. You speak of freedom
yet you took that freedom away with the GPL. If you really believed
in freedom then the GPL would just be the same as the public domain.
*That's* freedom. The BSD license is far closer to a truly free license,
the GPL isn't even remotely close to a free license.

Your position seems to say "I, Richard Stallman, know what is the right
answer for the world. So the rights I took away in the GPL are OK but
the rights that other people take away in other licenses are not OK".
A tad hypocritical, wouldn't you say?

I have no problem with the GPL, I think it's a fine license if your
goal is to have things done out in the open with no hoarding. A great
license, in fact. But I have a big problem with this constant harping
on the term "freedom". The GPL absolutely positively does not grant me
all the rights I want, it took substantial portions of my freedom away.
I am not free to use GPL source in any way I wish and neither is anyone
else.

I'm OK with you having a free license, go make one. I'm OK with you
sticking with the GPL, but then you get admit that it is not a free
license and stop kidding yourself and others.
--
---
Larry McVoy lm at bitmover.com http://www.bitmover.com/lm