Date: Fri, 07 Jan 2000 19:13:38 -0700 From: Wes Peters <wes@softweyr.com> To: Michael Lucas <mwlucas@blackhelicopters.org> Cc: advocacy@freebsd.org Subject: Re: license (no longer Re: uptimes, Woo Hoo) Message-ID: <38769D52.B7FD5AD9@softweyr.com> References: <200001071310.IAA17308@blackhelicopters.org>
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Michael Lucas wrote:
>
> > > You know, Wes, I would have joined this group quite some time ago if
> > > I'd known what it was *really* about.
> > It's about time you showed up here. Where's your keyboard print?
>
> I tried, but the puny little full-size keyboard got caught between my
> testicles. Haven't seen it since.
Doesn't it hurt when you walk? (Yeah, right).
> I'm pretty much surrounded by Linux bigots. Their big pro-Linux
> argument that they have is the GPL, and how it's great for the
> community.
>
> So, is there any highfalutin' purpose behind the BSDL? Or is it as
> nonpolitical as it appears to be? Having had this argument many
> times, I'd like something better than "we don't care"; from an
> advocacy point of view, that never comes across well.
>
> I find Kirk's explanation adequate. But it doesn't stand up well
> against the "community spirit" of the GPL.
The explanation is much deeper than a single reading reveals. The
purpose behind the Berkeley license is to get Berkeley code into
EVERYTHING, and they've achieved that quite effectively. The Berkeley
TCP/IP code is much more pervasive that you probably realize, just
about every TCP/IP object on the planet except Linux and SVR4 use
Berkeley code. Think also about the ubiquity of other chunks of
Berkeley code: Sendmail and BIND leap immediately to mind. Even Linux
and Solaris use those. ;^)
The only way to make your software ubiquitous is to allow those who use
it to give it away or charge for it, distribute it in source or in
binary, in short to give them total freedom to do what they want or
need, according to their agenda and not yours. The GPL fails to meet
this basic need, and therefore fails to allow the widest possible
distribution.
> Personally, I use BSD because the network performance and reliability
> blows Linux out of the water on the same hardware. But that's
> difficult to prove at the bar.
And may be a moot point, depending on the discussion. In may ways, Linux
and FreeBSD are technically equivalent, but one is certainly a lot more
friendly to commercial distribution.
--
"Where am I, and what am I doing in this handbasket?"
Wes Peters Softweyr LLC
wes@softweyr.com http://softweyr.com/
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