Re: Why is Nvidia given GPL'd code to use in non-free drivers?

Richard Stallman
2003-01-04T23:36:07Z

I have the freedom to use Linux and ClearCase. If closed source modules
were to be disallowed, it would be illegal for me to use this configuration,
and I would be forced to use HP-UX or Solaris, and not Linux.

You can't have freedom while using ClearCase, because it is non-free
software. What we really need is a free replacement for it. Will
people write one? Our main influence on whether people do this is by
what we say. A strong Free Software Movement will inspire more people
to reject non-free software and write free replacements.

Allowing non-free modules (whether they are open-source or not)
weakens the impetus for people to make free extensions to Linux. The
general attitude Linux developers take towards non-free software also
weakens it. Your own message, citing this gap in Linux, will tend to
discourage people from working to close the gap.

All else being equal, I'm glad that you use a variant of the GNU
system, but what system you use is not really important except to you.
If you used HP-UX or Solaris, it would be your loss, not our
community's loss. Spurring the broader development of free software
should be higher priority than keeping you as a user.

I'm saying that if you truly have a just cause, you don't need a hammer
or a sickle to force people to see things your way. Intelligent people
will have no choice but to follow your lead.

Since our views have little in common with Communism, it is remarkable
that our enemies sometimes call us Communists. Perhaps they do this
because it is easier to attack Communism than confront our real views.

It is the system of non-free software that resembles Stalinism. For
more about this, see http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/why-free.html.

Visionaries should have faith in their own vision.

Real visionaries know that just having a vision does not change
society. Sustained effort is necessary.