That is an _option_ you can take if you do not wish to distribute the source code directly with the binaries. The GPL is actually pretty flexible on how you ge

That is an _option_ you can take if you do not wish to distribute the source code directly with the binaries. The GPL is actually pretty flexible on how you get code to people, and provides a number of routes. For many projects (especially public ones - but also for things like D-Link routers) just throwing up an open-access website with the code on it is easier than passing out code with software/firmware updates. The minimum requirement is that the people you distribute the software to must get the source code of the binary version you give them.