Date: Sun, 3 Jun 2012 11:25:37 -0600 From: Chad Perrin <perrin@apotheon.com> To: Doug Barton <dougb@FreeBSD.org> Cc: freebsd-advocacy@FreeBSD.org Subject: Re: Good resources for BSDL vs. GPL? Message-ID: <20120603172537.GA31094@hemlock.hydra> In-Reply-To: <4FCABA18.4020405@FreeBSD.org> References: <4FCABA18.4020405@FreeBSD.org>
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On Sat, Jun 02, 2012 at 06:12:56PM -0700, Doug Barton wrote:
> Does anyone have a good resource for an objective discussion of GPL vs.
> BSDL? The upstream for one of the ports I maintain is considering
> switching licenses, and I'd like to present some non-inflammatory facts
> for him to consider.
>
> Please cc me on replies, since I'm not subscribed to this list.
I think you may find it difficult to track down resources that appear
entirely nonpartisan *and* do not present inaccurate views of how
software licensing works. There is a fair bit of misunderstanding on the
issue in the world. Those who actually know a fair bit about the matter
tend to have gotten to that point because of an intense interest
motivated by a distinct preference for one or the other.
That having been said, I'll direct you to some resources I think are
convincing as counterpoints to common "wisdom", explaining some instances
where reality diverges from what a lot of people believe they know about
how open source licensing works, particularly on the matter of copyfree
licenses (such as the various BSD licenses) versus copyleft licenses
(such as the various GNU licenses).
The following list (presented in alphabetical order) is long. I'm afraid
the vagueness of the specific conditions of your need for such references
makes it difficult for me to narrow down the list items to the most
relevant. I hope this helps. If you have concerns not addressed in this
list, let me know and I'll see if I can dig something up or otherwise
help out.
Advancement Through License Simplicity
http://univacc.net/?page=license_simplicity
(relevant to technical and social benefits of permissive licensing)
Advocacy's Fifth Column
http://sob.apotheon.org/?p=972
(relevant to advocacy effectiveness)
BSD/Copyfree vs. Corporate Copyleft
http://sob.apotheon.org/?p=622
BSD License Vs. Copyright Assignment
http://lwn.net/Articles/368449/
Choose The Right Licensing Model For Security Software
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/security/?p=610
(relevant to technical and social benefits of permissive licensing)
Code Reuse and Technological Advancement
http://blogstrapping.com/?page=2011.060.00.28.21
(relevant to technical and social benefits of permissive licensing)
Copyfree Initiative
http://copyfree.org/
Copyfree Is Not The New Copyleft.
http://blog.appamatto.com/2011/12/04/copyfree-is-not-the-new-copyleft.html
Copyfree vs Copyleft
http://www.wikivs.com/wiki/Copyfree_vs_Copyleft
GNU/Linux vs. Open Source Software
http://sob.apotheon.org/?p=607
GPL vs BSD
http://eksith.wordpress.com/2008/11/24/gpl-vs-bsd/
Legal Considerations When Using Free Software In IT Consulting Projects
http://www.techrepublic.com/project-management/?p=1363
MEPIS GPL Compliance FAQ
http://www.mepis.org/gpl-compliance-faq
(relevant to the unintended consequences of the GPL)
MS: Freedom Is Slavery; FSF: Slavery Is Freedom
http://sob.apotheon.org/?p=70
Promote Openness: Custom Applications And Standardized Formats
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/opensource/?p=2248
(relevant to promoting open data formats)
RMS And The FSF: One Map, One Flashlight, No Ass In Sight
http://sob.apotheon.org/?p=79
The Economic Case Against the GPL
http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=928
The Problem With GPL Thinking
http://sob.apotheon.org/?p=236
Why Copyfree
http://files.stdrand.com/why_copyfree.txt
Why We Should Allow DRM On Open Source Platforms
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/opensource/?p=2633
(relevant to licenses that allow vs. disallow DRM)
Why You Should Use A BSD Style License For Your Open Source Project
http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/articles/bsdl-gpl/article.html
In the case of older articles, many links may be broken due to
reorganizing at the target sites and other changes that could have
resulted in target articles being moved or deleted.
Full Disclosure: I wrote a lot of the articles listed above (though not
all of them).
--
Chad Perrin [ original content licensed OWL: http://owl.apotheon.org ]
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