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From: phr@soda.berkeley.edu (Paul Rubin)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd
Subject: Re: Restrictions on 'free' UNIX / 386BSD (Re: selling 386BSD)
Date: 17 Aug 92 00:36:18
Organization: CSUA/UCB
Lines: 29
Message-ID: <PHR.92Aug17003618@soda.berkeley.edu>
References: <PHR.92Aug15151100@soda.berkeley.edu> <63DILTJ@taronga.com>
<PHR.92Aug15214245@soda.berkeley.edu> <MNDIKJ3@taronga.com>
<5146@airs.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: soda.berkeley.edu
In-reply-to: ian@airs.com's message of 17 Aug 92 05:10:14 GMT
I thought about these issues a lot when I decided to put my UUCP
package under the GPL, and I've never seen any argument that was at
all convincing as to why that was a bad idea. I've seen convincing
arguments against putting library code under the GPL, but they do not
apply if you are using shared libraries on a GPL-based operating
system.
Note also that if you write a piece of free software with the GPL and
decide later that you made a mistake, you can change your mind and
relax the conditions. But if you don't copyleft and then realize you
wish there weren't all those proprietary systems being sold that were
adapted from your code, there is no way to get the toothpaste back in
the tube.
Years ago, somebody I'll call X announced he was writing a big free
software system and called for volunteers to donate code. I
contributed a program, under a copyleft, while the rest of the system
was still under development. He said he wanted his system to be
useful to the largest possible number of people and he convinced me to
drop the copyleft on the piece I wrote. Then when the big system was
released, he made the whole thing proprietary to himself. This story
is not directly relevant to 386bsd, but it's one reason I copyleft all
nontrivial free software I write these days.
X's system is widely used, by the way---all of you have heard of it.
I'm glad to see its popularity is finally fading. I'm also glad my
contribution was extremely minor---I felt like I got away with a
fairly cheap lesson.