Re: Total Joy of Ownership

[Raj Mathur <raju@xxxxxxx>]

>>>>> "Arun" == Arun Sharma <adsharma@xxxxxxxx> writes:

    Arun> On Thu, May 27, 1999 at 09:18:02AM +0530, Raj Mathur wrote:
    >> Not really.  One of the ways to make money in the GPL world is
    >> to solve a need for a particular entity and get paid for it;

    Arun> That is _a_ way of making money, but not the only way and
    Arun> IMO, not the way most of the money in software is being
    Arun> made.

Coincidentally I read some posts in these lists about sponsoring open
source projects just today itself!  So you /can/ do open source/GPL
and make money at the same time.

    Arun> But lets not lose sight of the objective. The objective is
    Arun> _not_ to make money. The objective is to provide enough
    Arun> financial incentive for a bright developer to keep free
    Arun> software competitive with commercial software.

Let's also not lose sight of the objectives that most people have when
writing free software: it's cool to do, it solves a particular need
for you, it gets you peer recognition and it satisfies your creative
urges.  It may also get you money, which is an added bonus.  Not too
many people write freeware as their primary profession.  Hundreds of
thousands do it in their spare time, because of all the reasons
above.

    >>  Afraid I disagree again.  If the GPL movement gains enough
    >> momentum, all software (except maybe some very specialised
    >> packages) will eventually become free.  IMO it is better to aim
    >> for that objective and not keep compromising at each step,
    >> leading to dilution of both the message and the power of the
    >> GPL.

    Arun> That's like hoping that the whole world will become a
    Arun> peaceful place and no one needs a military. Investing in
    Arun> military will send the wrong message about our intentions.

    Arun> I don't think that's practical. Also GPL != Linux != All of
    Arun> free software. I'd say Linux has gained momentum and GPL has
    Arun> gained momentum as a result.

No comment.  This is one question which we can argue about for
millenia and not come to ao conclusion, so I'm dropping it :-)

    >> But don't forget, the only reason that these large software
    >> vendors are porting stuff to Linux in the first place is
    >> because Linux is GPL and hence popular!

    Arun> I don't see a cause and effect relationship between the two
    Arun> (GPL and the success of Linux). There is a opinion piece
    Arun> which explores the question about why Linux is successful as
    Arun> opposed to GNU Hurd or FreeBSD:

    Arun> http://www.freebsddiary.org/freebsd/linux.htm

    >> Enforce the [L]GPL more strictly and Linux will probably become
    >> more popular

    Arun> That's speculation and I'll bet against it.

    Arun> This discussion is going a little bit off topic - but I
    Arun> think everyone needs to think critically about licenses and
    Arun> their consequences instead of using one because it's cooler
    Arun> than Kelvinator or Godrej (Till recently I fell in this
    Arun> category).

    Arun> Again, if you have done your homework, and think GPL is the
    Arun> right one for your work, more power to you.

Regards,

- -- Raju

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