Because the government of EUA finances BSD communities in the development of imperative technologies for intelligence and the Department of Defense (DARPA)?

[Polytropon]

On Wed, 9 Jul 2014 16:03:53 -0300, françai s wrote:
> Because 90% of open source projects created within Google are BSD license?

Is this per number of projects, per LOC or where does this
value come from? Yes, Google is a big contributor, but assuming
that 90% of the (existing?) open source projects has been
created _by_ Google (or within Google) doesn't look right.
Can you provide a source for that number?



> Because the government of EUA finances BSD communities in the
> development of imperative technologies for intelligence and the
> Department of Defense (DARPA)?

What's EUA? European Union of America? :-)

You can easily see what BSD projects develop: It's all open source.
If this source is turned into closed-source projects used for
surveillance, industry espionage, sabotage and cyber warfare,
you'll never know about it because governmental agencies hardly
publish what technology they use. It is _possible_ that parts
of BSD end in state security projects, the same way as BSD
components could appear in MICROS~1 products or networking gear
as a means to spy on networks and users. But the developers of
those components did not have that intention.

Note: Where there is potential for abuse, there _will be_ abuse.
Everything that is technically possible will be done, no matter
if we notice it (or ever find out about it).

The BSD licenses are often criticized as a "rape me license"
because it basically allows the (ab)use of BSD code for tasks
that are against people, against freedom, against democracy
and against common sense.



> The answers to these questions will influence my choice decisions of
> open source licenses.

Read the licensing terms of the different licenses (BSDL, the
GPLs, CDDL and so on). You can also write your own license by
combining the parts you like. _You_ are the creator, it's your
responsibility to choose the license you want to publish your
software (or code) under.

However, enforcing implications of that license is a totally
different topic. It depends on the jurisdiction you're living
in and that one your clients are living in. You definitely will
have to consult a lawyer about this complicated topic.



-- 
Polytropon
Magdeburg, Germany
Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0
Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...