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> Being so lax on legal matters for such company shows very low level of their management's professionalism. Actually, no, it doesn't. It merely means that th

> Being so lax on legal matters for such company shows very low level of their management's professionalism. Actually, no, it doesn't. It merely means that the management views GPL violations as a low-probability calculated risk. As in "we know that we can be in compliance, but we won't be wasting any resources on it until it's justified". It has nothing to do with the professionalism.

jcoffland 12y ago
In a world where lying and cheating when it's convienient is considered professional, you're right.
- angersock 12y ago
  Welcome to business!
  - shmerl 12y ago
    You mean unethical business.
    - a1369209993 12y ago
      So business.
    - angersock 12y ago
      Ethics don't enter into it--you might be thinking of negative externalities. That's the responsibility of the person running things next fiscal year. In the mean time, quit worrying and go deliver shareholder value.
      - shmerl 12y ago
        > That's the responsibility of the person running things next fiscal year. In the mean time, quit worrying and go deliver shareholder value. No, that's a weird attitude (i.e. I'll create a mess today, next person will clean it tomorrow). One has to be responsible for the mess, and actually preventing it to begin with. What you described is exactly the lack of professionalism.
        angersock 12y ago
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subprime_mortgage_crisis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subprime_mortgage_crisis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Wednesday http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Wednesday http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Comcast http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Comcast It's only unprofessional if you're bad at it.
        shmerl 12y ago
        It's unprofessional for normal companies. Unless you are talking about being a professional crook (and that's not what I'm talking about).
        angersock 12y ago
        Look, "professional" is a lie told by successful people to keep dullards in line. There is the almighty dollar, the pursuit of that dollar, and what you have to do to attain that dollar--if you aren't in this to get paid as much as the market will bear and damn the consequences, you sir are the unprofessional one. I get what you're saying, and I agree absolutely that it is a morally reprehensible thing to lie, cheat, or take the short-term approach to long-term problems. At the same time, you have to realize that anthropomorphizing companies is wrong. They are entities created to obtain profits, and any other reasoning about them is just going to cause you grief and distress. Accept that the system is made to generate non-corporeal profit-seeking amoral sociopaths, and move the fuck on.
        shmerl 12y ago
        > They are entities created to obtain profits No. It's a fake logic often used to excuse of kind of crooked behavior. This doesn't fly. Crooks are crooks, whether they are a company or not. Companies have those who drive them. If those people at the head can't control their own companies not to be crooks - too bad for them, they bear the responsibility.
kjak 12y ago
> As in "we know that we can be in compliance, but we won't be wasting any resources on it until it's justified". It has nothing to do with the professionalism. It sounds like it has everything to do with professionalism.
aros 12y ago
What a bizarre world we live in where willful violations of a legally binding license (a license which attempts to keep knowledge in the open) is considered nothing more than a "calculated risk."
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- mgkimsal 12y ago
  Every time you speed on the freeway, you're willfully violating the law, and taking a calculated risk that you won't get caught. No?
  - aros 12y ago
    I don't speed.
- Igglyboo 12y ago
  I'm sure you've never jaywalked or littered or sped in a car and thought to yourself "there's no way i'll get in trouble for this so i'll do it anyway". Except in VMware's case they are much large than a single person so their list of "low risk" crimes is larger.
  - aros 12y ago
    I don't jaywalk, litter, or speed.
s73v3r 12y ago
Actually, that entire statement shows they don't have any professionalism.
shmerl 12y ago
> It merely means that the management views GPL violations as a low-probability calculated risk. Which shows stupidity of that management, which thinks that legal violations are acceptable as long as they can view them as "low risk". Or it simply means it's a company of crooks. Either one is not a professional environment.

jcoffland 12y ago

In a world where lying and cheating when it's convienient is considered professional, you're right.

angersock 12y ago
Welcome to business!
- shmerl 12y ago
  You mean unethical business.
  - a1369209993 12y ago
    So business.
  - angersock 12y ago
    Ethics don't enter into it--you might be thinking of negative externalities. That's the responsibility of the person running things next fiscal year. In the mean time, quit worrying and go deliver shareholder value.
    - shmerl 12y ago
      > That's the responsibility of the person running things next fiscal year. In the mean time, quit worrying and go deliver shareholder value. No, that's a weird attitude (i.e. I'll create a mess today, next person will clean it tomorrow). One has to be responsible for the mess, and actually preventing it to begin with. What you described is exactly the lack of professionalism.
      - angersock 12y ago
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subprime_mortgage_crisis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subprime_mortgage_crisis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Wednesday http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Wednesday http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Comcast http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Comcast It's only unprofessional if you're bad at it.
        shmerl 12y ago
        It's unprofessional for normal companies. Unless you are talking about being a professional crook (and that's not what I'm talking about).
        angersock 12y ago
        Look, "professional" is a lie told by successful people to keep dullards in line. There is the almighty dollar, the pursuit of that dollar, and what you have to do to attain that dollar--if you aren't in this to get paid as much as the market will bear and damn the consequences, you sir are the unprofessional one. I get what you're saying, and I agree absolutely that it is a morally reprehensible thing to lie, cheat, or take the short-term approach to long-term problems. At the same time, you have to realize that anthropomorphizing companies is wrong. They are entities created to obtain profits, and any other reasoning about them is just going to cause you grief and distress. Accept that the system is made to generate non-corporeal profit-seeking amoral sociopaths, and move the fuck on.
        shmerl 12y ago
        > They are entities created to obtain profits No. It's a fake logic often used to excuse of kind of crooked behavior. This doesn't fly. Crooks are crooks, whether they are a company or not. Companies have those who drive them. If those people at the head can't control their own companies not to be crooks - too bad for them, they bear the responsibility.

kjak 12y ago

> As in "we know that we can be in compliance, but we won't be wasting any resources on it until it's justified". It has nothing to do with the professionalism. It sounds like it has everything to do with professionalism.

aros 12y ago

What a bizarre world we live in where willful violations of a legally binding license (a license which attempts to keep knowledge in the open) is considered nothing more than a "calculated risk."

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
mgkimsal 12y ago
Every time you speed on the freeway, you're willfully violating the law, and taking a calculated risk that you won't get caught. No?
- aros 12y ago
  I don't speed.
Igglyboo 12y ago
I'm sure you've never jaywalked or littered or sped in a car and thought to yourself "there's no way i'll get in trouble for this so i'll do it anyway". Except in VMware's case they are much large than a single person so their list of "low risk" crimes is larger.
- aros 12y ago
  I don't jaywalk, litter, or speed.

s73v3r 12y ago

Actually, that entire statement shows they don't have any professionalism.

shmerl 12y ago

> It merely means that the management views GPL violations as a low-probability calculated risk. Which shows stupidity of that management, which thinks that legal violations are acceptable as long as they can view them as "low risk". Or it simply means it's a company of crooks. Either one is not a professional environment.