Re: [ox-en] Dangerous changes in the GPL 3.0
- From: "Per I. Mathisen" <per leftist.net>
- Date: Fri, 7 Oct 2005 13:21:38 +0000 (GMT)
On Thu, 6 Oct 2005, Stefan Merten wrote:
The GPL is *not* based on reciprocity so far.
True in a sense - the GPL does not require each and every person who uses
the GPL to do anything at all; it only places limitations on how the
licensed material can be redistributed. There is no indication this is
going to change, only that the redistribution limitations may be slightly
changed.
The change as I understand it is that software that implements internet
services and which has a feature that allows a user to download the source
code to itself may not be removed or subverted.
I find this idea (no opinion on technical aspects of it) quite reasonable.
The reason for this that GPL is based on a kind of reciprocity. For a
large part, I think the "economy" of free software works because people
have some kind of security against being "ripped off". The fear of being
taken unfairly advantage of is natural and strong to us as human beings.
The GPL works as a kind of 'safeguard' to ensure that the playing field is
kept level and people do not become resentful, pick up their toys and go
home. I think this is perhaps a much greater strength of the GPL than its
ability to encourage others to contribute code back to the commons.
However, this breaks down for internet services (and, incidentially, for
multimedia). If I write a great internet-based game and publish the source
code, a company can take the code, make improvements to it, and use it to
attracts users, competing with my own offering and taking users away from
it, without contributing anything back. My fear of this scenario may keep
me from publishing the source code in the first place.
So where is the big difference with Internet services based on Free
Software?
You confuse simple in-house processing with dynamic processes running over
the internet. If you use a preprocessor or a compiler to create something
that you present on the internet, the new rule would not apply.
Why should applications that are run remotely by users/customers over the
internet be exempt from the demands of the GPL?
No this control attitude is new and it haunts the discussion for at
least a year now.
Please be careful of attributing attitudes to people you may not know very
well.
- Per
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