From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S261893AbTDIApr (for ); Tue, 8 Apr 2003 20:45:47 -0400 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id S261895AbTDIApr (for ); Tue, 8 Apr 2003 20:45:47 -0400 Received: from smtp.bitmover.com ([192.132.92.12]:37816 "EHLO smtp.bitmover.com") by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S261893AbTDIApq (for ); Tue, 8 Apr 2003 20:45:46 -0400 Date: Tue, 8 Apr 2003 17:47:18 -0700 From: Larry McVoy To: Jamie Lokier Cc: Larry McVoy , linux-kernel Subject: Re: BitBucket: GPL-ed KitBeeper clone Message-ID: <20030409004718.GA1855@work.bitmover.com> Mail-Followup-To: Larry McVoy , Jamie Lokier , Larry McVoy , linux-kernel References: <200304081354_MC3-1-3386-1A33@compuserve.com> <20030408180225.GC27912@work.bitmover.com> <20030408231949.GB31923@mail.jlokier.co.uk> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <20030408231949.GB31923@mail.jlokier.co.uk> User-Agent: Mutt/1.4i X-MailScanner-Information: Please contact the ISP for more information X-MailScanner: Found to be clean Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org On Wed, Apr 09, 2003 at 12:19:49AM +0100, Jamie Lokier wrote: > Larry McVoy wrote about unreleased improvements to Bitkeeper: > > [...] we're worried about the open source guys stealing them. > > Seriously, do you see it as "stealing" if someone mimics your best ideas? Yes. It is not clear to me that open source community has realized that it is much harder to come up with the ideas than it is to copy them. Much of the activity in open source community is copying, providing a GPLed version of some commercial tool. The problem is that that those things which you wish to copy represent easily 10x-100x more work than it would take to copy them. So we spend the order[s] of magnitude more money to get a good answer and you copy it. In many cases, before we can recoup our investment. The short answer is yes, it's stealing in our eyes. If you're such a good programmer, how about you go figure out the SCM answers without leveraging our work? By not honoring that request, you are begging us to stop improving the free version of BK. Also known as "cutting off your nose to spite your face". -- --- Larry McVoy lm at bitmover.com http://www.bitmover.com/lm