OT - Closing Off An Open-Source Product

[Marcin 'Qrczak' Kowalczyk]

On Fri, Apr 13, 2001 at 10:20:56AM -0500, Chris Watson wrote:

> The license perhaps. The *code* is TOTALLY free.

A code is always tainted with its license. It's impossible to say
what one can do with a code without considering its license.

A BSDL licensed code is not totally free: it cannot be linked with
GPL code.

> Its sort of a way of enofrcing the BSDL. "You can do anything with
> this code, period, and no one can change the license on this code
> removing those rights.

Similarly as GPL is enforcing that the code will be free. The
difference is that GPL is talking about the source, and you are
talking about either source or binary.

> So basically your back to BSDL vs GPL which is truly free? The BSDL doesnt
> put restrictions on code use, the GPL does.

GPL puts restrictions: it forbids putting restriction about
availability of the source.

BSDL also puts restrictions: it forbids putting restrictions which
would forbid putting restrictions about availability of the source.

Disallowing putting a restriction is always a restriction itself!

In some sense BSDL gives more freedom: it forbids putting a
restriction. In the same sense GPL gives more freedom: it forbids
putting a restriction.

In another sense BSDL takes away freedom: it introduces a restriction
(which forbids putting other restrictions). Same for GPL: it introduces
a restriction (which forbids putting other restrictions).

I could introduce SuperGPL which is related to BSDL as BSDL is
related to GPL. It would say that you cannot put restrictions which
would disallow putting restrictions which would ensure that the code
remains free. It's incompatible with BSDL but compatible with GPL.
Of course you could respond with SuperBSDL etc.

You can't say where in this infinite sequence lives most freedom,
because freedom is not monotonic. Giving more freedom means that other
people are allowed to take away more freedom. OTOH ensuring that other
people can't take away freedom is taking away some freedom yourself.

Stating what restrictions other people can put is in a contravariant
position. The more freedom you want to ensure, the more you have to
restrict, and vice versa.

There is no point of infinite freedom. Well, in some sense it's the
beginning of the sequence: public domain code. But it doesn't disallow
other people from introducing restrictions on the availability of the
source, because it doesn't disallow anything - this is what "totally
free" means. You can disallow that, and you have GPL. You don't like
it, so you can disallow putting that restriction, and you have BSDL.
I don't like that, so I can disallow putting that restriction, and
we have SuperGPL. Et caetera.

> This just keeps people from putting those nasty evil GPL restrictions
> on BSD code.

You replaced evil GPL restrictions with evil BSDL restrictions.

-- 
 __("<  Marcin Kowalczyk * qrczak at knm.org.pl http://qrczak.ids.net.pl/
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QRCZAK