[rescue] Re: Being jobless

[vance at neurotica.com]

On Thu, 31 Jul 2003, Frank Van Damme wrote:

> > Just because the GNU toolset is GPL doesn't mean the GNU toolset
> > wouldn't exist without GPL.  Where is that proven?
>
> Because the system itself was an afterthought. What mattered to rms in
> the eighties was to have a free operating system, not an operating
> system that had a good toolset or compiler that was coincidentally
> released under a free license.
>
> So yes, maybe someone would have written a closed-source freeware unix
> clone. It don't think it would have become half as popular as GNU. Free
> software is, indeed, viral ;-) - much of the success of GNU comes from
> the fact that everyone can contribute to it, so the system gets better.
> I don't think my imaginary freeware unix clone would get the developper
> input GNU has had.
>
> That said, no, the license could have been slightly different. But the
> GNU toolset wouldn't exist without some sort of free software license.

But the BSD license doesn't have that "derivative product" repugnance.

Peace...  Sridhar