From owner-freebsd-advocacy@FreeBSD.ORG Sun Jun 3 17:25:39 2012 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-advocacy@FreeBSD.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 8AD831065675 for ; Sun, 3 Jun 2012 17:25:39 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from perrin@apotheon.com) Received: from oproxy6-pub.bluehost.com (oproxy6.bluehost.com [IPv6:2605:dc00:100:2::a6]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with SMTP id 4BC1A8FC15 for ; Sun, 3 Jun 2012 17:25:39 +0000 (UTC) Received: (qmail 21264 invoked by uid 0); 3 Jun 2012 17:25:39 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO box543.bluehost.com) (74.220.219.143) by cpoproxy3.bluehost.com with SMTP; 3 Jun 2012 17:25:39 -0000 DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; q=dns/txt; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=apotheon.com; s=default; h=In-Reply-To:Content-Transfer-Encoding:Content-Type:MIME-Version:References:Message-ID:Subject:Cc:To:From:Date; bh=qiPIFaCX8c/ZpQgpEUokmSJDtZFIYTcjXtTb96emerQ=; b=fX3CNDswH/6L732vLqcEu1vNfiOoIHg8XjNbWR+tPL11yRgFEvfvvBq34JOa8yxaa4RSgIAxHoMi4oX6yWC96xvKDnx5jRkW6g186guocwfQZfFPGYbfSrm+bN6ljhNA; Received: from [24.8.180.234] (port=63945 helo=localhost) by box543.bluehost.com with esmtpsa (TLSv1:AES128-SHA:128) (Exim 4.76) (envelope-from ) id 1SbEYc-0001Ld-E6; Sun, 03 Jun 2012 11:25:38 -0600 Date: Sun, 3 Jun 2012 11:25:37 -0600 From: Chad Perrin To: Doug Barton Message-ID: <20120603172537.GA31094@hemlock.hydra> Mail-Followup-To: Doug Barton , freebsd-advocacy@FreeBSD.org References: <4FCABA18.4020405@FreeBSD.org> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Disposition: inline Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit In-Reply-To: <4FCABA18.4020405@FreeBSD.org> User-Agent: Mutt/1.5.21 (2010-09-15) X-Identified-User: {2737:box543.bluehost.com:apotheon:apotheon.com} {sentby:smtp auth 24.8.180.234 authed with perrin@apotheon.com} Cc: freebsd-advocacy@FreeBSD.org Subject: Re: Good resources for BSDL vs. GPL? X-BeenThere: freebsd-advocacy@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: FreeBSD Evangelism List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Sun, 03 Jun 2012 17:25:39 -0000 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 ]