Messages in this thread | | | Date | Thu, 16 Apr 1998 00:51:31 -0600 | From | Richard Stallman <> | Subject | Re: beos-bootloader? (fwd) |
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OR, we could strike a deal with Be, placing our boot loader under another copyright (a common bootloader will probably be beneficial to all of us), and having Be placing it's FS, ABI and possibly something else under a freeer licence with open source...
The idea of a deal like this is not ridiculous. After all the idea of the GNU GPL is that it is a lever to make other software free. If a deal makes other software free, it is doing the same job. If they are willing to accept a deal in which some part of their software becomes free software, that deal might be good for the community.
But please don't settle for a change which goes less than far enough to make a program free software. Making any amount of software "closer to free" but not *actually* free would not really contribute anything to the free software community.
For example, if they offer two alternative deals, one in which they make program A free software, and one in which they make two programs A and B somewhat closer but no cigar, the deal in which program A becomes really free is better. That deal does result in more free software.
Also, it would make sense to ask, "Is this software useful for the free software community"? If it can't be of any use except on BeOS, then its usefulness to us is limited. And if the idea is that Be will make some program free, perhaps it is best just to insist "Make the program that uses our code free".
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