3 ms·

> there were already free -nixes out there Not true, the various "Free" BSDs came much later. As far as I know, BSD existed but wasn't Free. If it was already

by hasenj 15y ago

> there were already free -nixes out there Not true, the various "Free" BSDs came much later. As far as I know, BSD existed but wasn't Free. If it was already free, then RMS would probably not have launched the GNU project.

prodigal_erik 15y ago
I think he still would have, because what he set out to create is a 100% copylefted system. It's in the manifesto: > Everyone will be permitted to modify and redistribute GNU, but no distributor will be allowed to restrict its further redistribution. That is to say, proprietary modifications will not be allowed. I want to make sure that all versions of GNU remain free.
- FooBarWidget 15y ago
  The FSF actively embraces non-copyleft or weak-copyleft licenses. The GPL3 was explicitly designed to be compatible with the Apache license. The Apache license has a weaker copyleft than GPL2.
  - hasenj 15y ago
    They want to work with other free software, they accept "liberal" licenses, but they don't encourage using them. They even encourage GPL over LGPL.
gjm11 15y ago
In case anyone's wondering about the actual timeline: September 1983: RMS announces the GNU project. (Work actually begins in January 1984.) March 1987: first release of GCC. June 1989: first release of bash. May 1991: FSF announces that work on GNU Hurd (their own kernel) "has begun". June 1991: first free-as-in-speech BSD release ("Net/2"). October 1991: first release of glibc. September 1991: first release of Linux (0.01) -- not free-as-in-speech. March 1992: first release of 386BSD (0.0). July 1992: release 0.1, much more usable. April 1992: USL v BSDi lawsuit filed. (This was a big obstacle to early adoption of the BSDs.) December 1992: first free-as-in-speech release of Linux (0.99). April 1993: first official release of NetBSD (0.8). November 1993: first official release of FreeBSD (1.0). January 1994: USL v BSDi lawsuit settled. April 1994: FSF announces that the Hurd boots (but doesn't do anything much else). May 2011: still waiting for the first truly usable release of GNU Hurd. No one seems to think it's very likely that there will ever be one. So ... when the GNU project was announced, there weren't any free Unixes of any sort out there. It's possible that GNU really did create the whole idea of a free alternative to Unix. But the first free Unixoid kernel that was actually released was a BSD, and the first free whole Unixoid OS that was actually released was a BSD.

by hasenj 15y ago

prodigal_erik 15y ago

I think he still would have, because what he set out to create is a 100% copylefted system. It's in the manifesto: > Everyone will be permitted to modify and redistribute GNU, but no distributor will be allowed to restrict its further redistribution. That is to say, proprietary modifications will not be allowed. I want to make sure that all versions of GNU remain free.

FooBarWidget 15y ago
The FSF actively embraces non-copyleft or weak-copyleft licenses. The GPL3 was explicitly designed to be compatible with the Apache license. The Apache license has a weaker copyleft than GPL2.
- hasenj 15y ago
  They want to work with other free software, they accept "liberal" licenses, but they don't encourage using them. They even encourage GPL over LGPL.

gjm11 15y ago

In case anyone's wondering about the actual timeline: September 1983: RMS announces the GNU project. (Work actually begins in January 1984.) March 1987: first release of GCC. June 1989: first release of bash. May 1991: FSF announces that work on GNU Hurd (their own kernel) "has begun". June 1991: first free-as-in-speech BSD release ("Net/2"). October 1991: first release of glibc. September 1991: first release of Linux (0.01) -- not free-as-in-speech. March 1992: first release of 386BSD (0.0). July 1992: release 0.1, much more usable. April 1992: USL v BSDi lawsuit filed. (This was a big obstacle to early adoption of the BSDs.) December 1992: first free-as-in-speech release of Linux (0.99). April 1993: first official release of NetBSD (0.8). November 1993: first official release of FreeBSD (1.0). January 1994: USL v BSDi lawsuit settled. April 1994: FSF announces that the Hurd boots (but doesn't do anything much else). May 2011: still waiting for the first truly usable release of GNU Hurd. No one seems to think it's very likely that there will ever be one. So ... when the GNU project was announced, there weren't any free Unixes of any sort out there. It's possible that GNU really did create the whole idea of a free alternative to Unix. But the first free Unixoid kernel that was actually released was a BSD, and the first free whole Unixoid OS that was actually released was a BSD.