Re: PostgreSQL Licence: GNU/GPL

From: Thomas Lockhart <lockhart(at)fourpalms(dot)org>
To: Bruce Momjian <pgman(at)candle(dot)pha(dot)pa(dot)us>
Cc: Peter Eisentraut <peter_e(at)gmx(dot)net>, "Marc G(dot) Fournier" <scrappy(at)hub(dot)org>, Vince Vielhaber <vev(at)michvhf(dot)com>, Brent Verner <brent(at)rcfile(dot)org>, mlw <markw(at)mohawksoft(dot)com>, alavoor <alavoor(at)yahoo(dot)com>, pgsql-hackers(at)postgresql(dot)org, pgsql-general(at)postgresql(dot)org
Subject: Re: PostgreSQL Licence: GNU/GPL
Date: 2002-01-22 01:47:30
Message-ID: 3C4CC4B2.B449F769@fourpalms.org
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> The above is the BSD license, the classic open-source license. While the
> GPL has similar goals, PostgreSQL developers find the restrictions
> imposed by the GPL to be unacceptable. Since the BSD license has no
> such restrictions, we like it and have no intention of changing it.

If you feel you must bother to mention this whole sordid topic somewhere
in the documentation, I much prefer the already-suggested,
non-judgemental wording (by Mitch Vincent and others) of something like:

Postgres has been developed and released under the BSD license
from its inception. Code contributed to the main distribution
is assumed to be, and must be, released under this same license.

Frankly, I'm not sure why I should be uncomfortable with GPL, and I'm
not sure that a FAQ should presume to explain why I am, especially if I
am not. But I *am* comfortable with the ground rules of PostgreSQL which
have been there since the beginning and with which we have seen
tremendous growth and maturity of the project and product. Good enough
for me ;)

- Thomas

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