Re: [HACKERS] Someone finally put it into print...

The Hermit Hacker <scrappy(at)hub(dot)org> writes:
> GPL evil, BSD so-so...
> http://www.daemonnews.org/199905/gpl.html

Talk about a one-sided, inflammatory presentation ... sheesh.

I happen to like BSD better myself, but calling GPL "Communistic"
is a few steps beyond reasonable discourse.

The real meat of the issue is this: if you give your free software away
under a BSD-style license, someone else can use it as a component of a
non-free, non-open-source product. If you give your software away under
a GPL-style license, it can only be used as a component of more free,
open-source software. Either of these might be a reasonable goal
depending on your purposes. I read Michael Maxwell's attack as saying
"it's not good enough for you to give code away for free, I demand that
you allow me to make money off your work".

regards, tom lane