Re: bsd license question

[Ben Goren <ben@trumpetpower.com>]

On 2005 Mar 2, at 10:26 PM, Jeffrey Lim wrote:

> The BSD says, "i
> trust the world to give me the better side of things" (ie. if somebody
> takes my source closed-source, and then makes it commercial, i trust
> that they will somehow or other contribute back to the parent
> source/project. But even if they don't, i'm also ok with that).

Close, but not quite. Trust isn't necessary.

When I was about eleven or so, I loaned a quarter to a friend. I never 
saw the quarter again. Since then, I've never loaned anything to 
anybody.

However, I have given many people gifts. Sometimes, I've given 
gifts--very clearly stated as such--in response to a request for a 
loan.

Although I've never asked for a gift to be given back, I've been repaid 
those gifts about as often as I see others being repaid for loans.

So, what's the difference between my gifts and most people's loans? 
Simple. The recipient is free from the burden of being in my debt...and 
I am free from the burden of having somebody indebted to me.

Ultimately, when you let somebody have something, whether or not you 
ever see it again has nothing whatsoever to do with what you told the 
person at the time. It has everything to do with the other person.

Calling something a loan--which, essentially, is what the GPL does--is 
just an attempt to force somebody to be socially responsible. You can't 
force people to be socially responsible. Sure, you might be able to 
force them to repay you...but, in the process, there's been just as 
much social damage done as if they had simply defaulted on the loan.

When you're dealing with physical items, it makes sense to be careful 
in deciding what you do and don't give away. I could give you one of my 
trumpets, but then I wouldn't be able to play it any more. And do you 
have any idea what kind of effort it takes to find an instrument you 
like and then get to truly know it? I would have suffered a real loss.

When you're dealing with code, you'll always have your own copy, no 
matter how often you give it away. Often, people will give it back to 
you in better shape than when you gave it to them. And if they don't? 
No worries--you've still got your original, as good as ever. So why not 
let the whole world have it, for ANY PURPOSE?

Cheers,

b&

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