On 7/24/23 10:12, Gordon Messmer wrote:
On 2023-07-22 09:55, frank saporito wrote:
On 7/22/23 02:29, Gordon Messmer wrote:
From my point of view, Red Hat doesn't really sell software. They
give away software. All of their software is available at no
charge, typically in an unbranded release. What Red Hat sells is
support.
Does Red Hat give away software anymore?
Yes? I'm not aware of any Red Hat software that isn't Free Software.
I am confused. Last month Red Hat announced that the source code
would not be published.
That's not what they announced. The major-release branch of RHEL's
source code is still published to the CentOS Stream git repos.
I think it's important to point out that Red Hat never published *all*
of RHEL's package source code. For the first six months of any
release of RHEL, they would publish de-branded source by essentially
taking one artifact from each build (the src.rpm), unpacking that in a
git repository, removing the primary source code archive, debranding
what was left, committing all of that, and then pushing the result.
It was basically git as a fancy FTP.
They've stopped doing that, in favor of publishing the major-release
branch of the git repos for the entire primary support lifecycle of
the major release.
The spirit of GPL was meant to force sharing and prevent the
commercialization of the volunteer work of many.
It definitely wasn't. GPL software can't be made closed-source.
Customers have to receive the source code (or an offer for it), and
they have the rights that the license guarantees. But GPL software
can definitely be commercialized.
Gordon,
I would like clarification on your recent post. There may be some
nuances in your language that I need help understanding.
Let me know if you disagree with any of these statements:
1. Red Hat is no longer posting source code to git.centos.org. (ref: Red
Hat's June 21, 2023 announcement,
https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/furthering-evolution-centos-stream, and
Hackaday article published June 30, 2023,
https://hackaday.com/2023/06/23/et-tu-red-hat/)
2. Red Hat will release source code to partners and customers via the
Red Hat Customer Portal. (ref: Red Hat announcement)
3. Per Red Hat EULA, customers can not freely distribute the source
code. (ref: Red Hat EULA)
4. Red Hat's policy decision has made it difficult (maybe impossible)
for "clone" distributions to continue existing. (ref: Google "red hat
source code")
5. Red Hat's policy change contradicts the GPL's spirit.
The first four statements are facts (at least, I think they are.) The
fifth question is opinion.
I am not engaging in a heated debate - just trying to gain understanding.
I appreciate your consideration.
frank
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