lkml.org 
[lkml]   [2007]   [Jun]   [18]   [last100]   RSS Feed
Views: [wrap][no wrap]   [headers]  [forward] 
 
Messages in this thread
    /
    Date
    From
    SubjectRe: Dual-Licensing Linux Kernel with GPL V2 and GPL V3
    On 6/18/07, Alexandre Oliva <aoliva@redhat.com> wrote:
    >
    > Seriously, looking only at the downside of anti-tivoization (tivoizer
    > might turn us down), without even acknowledging that, should the
    > tivoizer change practice and respect users' freedoms, you'd be able to
    > get far more contributions from all those users, is typical minimax
    > strategy.

    <snip>

    > Every time you enable someone to disrespect other users' freedoms WRT
    > your software, you cut yourself out of some contributions that user
    > could make. Even if you completely disregard the moral and ethical
    > aspects of software freedom, the open source mentality inherently
    > depends on the notion of respect for others' freedoms. You only reap
    > the benefits of open source when the user gets the freedoms respected.

    Alexandre, while I backed you up on the whole "spirit of the GPL
    hasn't changed" thing, I think you are wrong here. As Jesper, Johannes
    and others have already pointed out (in a couple of the very few
    cogent non-flames since this thread started), we undoubtedly get more
    back in the form of software contributions from paid developers of
    TiVO-like companies than from the very few end users with the skill to
    hack the software or the inclination to aquire said skill. The simple
    fact is that most end users of most electronic devices don't care
    about the Freeness of the software, they care if their device works.

    If you disregard the ethical dimension, I think it's hard to argue w/
    a straight face that Linus' stance is wrong from a pragmatic
    standpoint.

    The problem is that the people saying "just don't buy TiVOs" know full
    well that because the number of end users who care is so small, they
    have _no_ economic power to change the situation, and that's why
    people who do consider this an ethical issue want to leverage the
    power the copyright holders have both legally and by virtue of their
    expertise to force the hardware vendors to cooperate w/ end users.

    Dave
    -
    To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
    the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
    More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
    Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/

    \
     
     \ /
      Last update: 2007-06-18 21:03    [W:2.843 / U:0.308 seconds]
    ©2003-2020 Jasper Spaans|hosted at Digital Ocean and TransIP|Read the blog|Advertise on this site