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The problem I have with the copyleft movement is an impression that they want developers to have less freedom than end users. As an end user I get free access t
by guscost 13y ago
The problem I have with the copyleft movement is an impression that they want developers to have less freedom than end users. As an end user I get free access to all GPL source code, but as a developer I can only use that source code to make new software if I follow certain rules.
It's as if there was a "free recipes" movement arguing that since their method for cultivating cayenne peppers was under GPL, KFC should be forced to tell everyone how to make their chicken.
- Avshalom 13y agoThe GPL/Four Freedoms more or less rejects the distinction between developer and user.
- guscost 13y agoThat seems to make about as much sense as rejecting the distinction between cooking chicken and eating it.
- dllthomas 13y agoI put chicken on my plate. I taste it. It is not salty enough. I add some salt. Obviously, we wouldn't call this "cooking chicken", but I'm participating in the creation of my final meal. We can add arbitrarily more, arbitrarily complex steps and ingredients. It totally makes sense to say, "this person is developing software" or "this person is cooking chicken". What is rejected is the notion that eating the chicken means you're not taking any role in shaping it except those roles explicitly given to you. When I make boxed macaroni and cheese, I add nutmeg, and the result is way better. It's a good thing I have access to enough of the guts of the recipe to make that change (... or maybe it would be better if I ate less boxed macaroni and cheese, but I think you follow the metaphor).