Open source quiry

[Ted Mittelstaedt]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-freebsd-questions at freebsd.org
> [mailto:owner-freebsd-questions at freebsd.org]On Behalf Of Giorgos
> Keramidas
> Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2008 11:27 PM
> To: Ted Mittelstaedt
> Cc: Daniel Jennings; freebsd-questions at freebsd.org
> Subject: Re: Open source quiry
> 
> 
> On 2008-02-26 22:53, Ted Mittelstaedt <tedm at toybox.placo.com> wrote:
> >Giorgos Keramidas wrote:
> >>On 2008-02-26 11:33, Daniel Jennings <djennings84 at bigpond.com> wrote:
> >>> Hello,
> >>> Recently I was told that 2wire dsl gateways http://www.2wire.com use
> >>> a variant of rt FreeBSD.
> >>
> >> The FreeBSD license allows reuse of the source code.  In fact, this
> >> is one of the stated goals of the project.  `To provide a modern UNIX
> >> system, with no strings attached.'
> >>
> >> > If this is true are they required to make the source code available
> >> > to the public? And if so how does one go about getting the GPL
> >> > source
> >>
> >> Not necessarily.  Depending on how meticulous they have been in their
> >> efforts to properly compartmentalize their own stuff, the BSD license
> >> allows commercial reuse of the source code.
> >
> > The BSD license allows commercial reuse of the code with no
> > requirement to disclose modifications, and no requirement to
> > "compartmentalize"
> >
> > The GPL license is what your probably thinking on the
> > "compartmentalize" thing, and the GPL zealots modify the GPL on a
> > regular basis to make whatever "compartmentalization" schemes that
> > people work out, impossible.
> >
> > Pretty soon the GPL will be claiming that programs that exec() GPL
> > programs are required to be licensed under GPL!!!!
> 
> Hi Ted :)
> 
> That's stretching it a bit, but I know where the you are coming from.
> 
> There's a very good way of removing the limits this sort of thing can
> make possible: `Develop BSD code'.  I'm sure you know that, so this is
> more for the random thread reader.  The best way to improve BSD is not
> to `fight' the GPL but to embrace the BDSL and, well, sit down and write
> something that extends and improves BSD :)
> 

But, BSD is already so far ahead of GNU/Linux that I wouldn't
want the GPL folk to get too discouraged...

Ted