Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

Alas, you are doing great harm.

Author:Brett Glass
Posted:8/23/2000; 6:51:03 PM
Topic:Next survey: Are you an open source developer?
Msg #:20041 (In response to 20038)
Prev/Next:20040 / 20042

I do not intend to do harm, I intend to help.

That may be your intention, but I think that when you understand the GPL's intent and effects you will realize that you are doing great harm. The GPL's intent and function is to turn open source software into a weapon against developers' interests by destroying markets -- and, ultimately, against consumers' interests by destroying choice.

People can and have made money off of free software,

In the short run, some individuals may be paid to write GPLed software, and thus may perceive themselves to be "making money." But their companies -- for example, Red Hat -- are losing money. These companies do not own the software they sell; in fact, they cannot create unique value due to the GPL. Anyone can duplicate and sell the same software. Therefore, the stockholders of companies which produce GPLed software are likely never to see a return on their investment. What you are seeing is a transfer of money from the pockets of naive shareholders, enthused by the recent run-up in the stock market and Linux hype in the media, to those of the company's employees.

It is similar to what's going on with Napster -- just because the music is free doesn't mean that the artists can't make money.

Napster does, in fact, deprive artists of compensation for their work. Having been a professional musician, I can speak from experience: a musician cannot eke out more than a subsistence living by performing. Only by publishing can an artist make a reasonable living. Napster facilitates the theft of artists' work.

Software is different than many other things. Software is a tool that one uses to get work done. One can't get work done if they don't have the freedom to access and modify the code.

Not true. One can get work done with Microsoft Windows (though it is buggy, slow, and prone to crashes) without having access to the source.

Look at Linux. It was released under the GPL, but many continue to add to it and get paid for their work. (Many of them work at Red Hat.)

Not a sustainable situation. See above.

--Brett Glass

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