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Date:      Sat, 13 May 2000 18:09:34 -0700
From:      Arun Sharma <adsharma@sharmas.dhs.org>
To:        freebsd-chat@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: Why are people against GNU? WAS Re: 5.0 already?
Message-ID:  <200005140109.SAA17203@sharmas.dhs.org>
In-Reply-To: <20000514011612.B16058@happy.checkpoint.com>
References:  <20000513215350.A6803@physics.iisc.ernet.in> <Pine.BSF.4.21.0005131247090.48183-100000@sasami.jurai.net> <20000514011612.B16058@happy.checkpoint.com>

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In muc.lists.freebsd.chat, you wrote:
> 
> This is grossly anti-historical. At the time many GNU utilities were
> written, the original UNIX utilities were not available in source form
> freely. You had to buy a UNIX source license. In other words, it's not 
> like GNU people didn't like the BSD ls(1), they *couldn't* provide
> a free-for-use source of ls(1), and had to write their own.
> 
> Of course, there's an easy way for you to prove me wrong. Please point
> out to me a GNU replacement of sendmail, perl, or bind. These are
> (some of) large free software projects that *were* available for free use
> in source form. Surely the GNU people must've rewritten them all to
> release them under the GPL?

I entered into the UNIX world in early 90s, so I don't know what happened
at the early stages of the GNU project.

But certainly, there have been many attempts of GNU-fication of 
existing code on the grounds that it was non-free. Gnome, GPG and Linux
to name a few.

Also, having GNU code around hasn't stopped duplication of work. Try
counting the number of GPL'ed mail clients on http://freshmeat.net/

	-Arun



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