On Jun 18, 2008, Matthew Saltzman <mjs@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Then can we at least agree that there are sometimes unfortunate > consequences to the GPL's failure to permit one to share a work > combining two pieces of *free* software because of relatively minor[1] > license incompatibilities? Yeah, it's unfortunate when this happens. In general, authors who use the GPL for its intended purpose (ensuring the 4 freedoms are respected for all users) won't object to the combination of their works with other works that respect users' freedoms, and will grant additional permissions for the combinations in spite of the license conflicts. Of course, not everyone does that, and some people who would like to create such combinations may even not realize that this possibility exists, or think it's not worth the effort. So, yeah, it's unfortunate, but I don't think it's really such a big deal. Nearly all Free Software *is* available under the GPL and compatible licenses anyway. > In fact, I think it's arguable that there are sometimes unfortunate > consequences to the GPL's failure to permit one to share a work that > makes use of a GPL library and a proprietary library. Sparing a user from becoming dependent on a piece of proprietary software might even be a sacrifice for the user, but it's actually an advantage for the user and for society in the long run. Anyhow, it is true that conquering freedom is not without its sacrifices. Like, one could argue that an army is a useless expense and sacrifice in times of peace, but if you don't work on your defenses proactively (and GPL is a license that not only respects the 4 freedoms, but also stands up to defend them), you become a sweeter target, more likely to be defeated and terminated. -- Alexandre Oliva http://www.lsd.ic.unicamp.br/~oliva/ Free Software Evangelist oliva@{lsd.ic.unicamp.br, gnu.org} FSFLA Board Member ¡Sé Libre! => http://www.fsfla.org/ Red Hat Compiler Engineer aoliva@{redhat.com, gcc.gnu.org} -- fedora-devel-list mailing list fedora-devel-list@xxxxxxxxxx https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-devel-list
