Hello Leon,
Your paper ``Picking up your marbles'' could be quite good if not from some shot-in-your-own-foot points like saying thad Free Software is GPL and BSD is OpenSource as if any was less of the other.
That's utterly wrong. GPL is as much opensource as much as BSD (well, the modified version, which is what most BSD instances are) is Free Software.
Separating waters as you did, only helps someone's plan of divide and conquer.
Your comparison table, for instance, should be more like what's below (I maintain more or less the same information, just correcting the worse mistake you're spreading, and for readbility, if not (Y) or (R), the field is GREEN).
Other than that, there are other problems too, for which I'd be more than glad to help you correct, if you're intereseted. I also invite you to join a Free Software mailing list, like discussion@fsfeurope.org (visit http://mail.fsfeurope.org/mailman/listinfo/discussion for more) where many doubpts you seem to possess can be cleared.
At your service, Rui
+---------------+-----------------------+-------------------------------+ | Attribute | SharedSource | Free and OpenSource Software | | | +-----------------+-------------+ | | | GPL | BSD | +---------------+-----------------------+-----------------+-------------+ | Security | Some(Y) | Excellent | Excellent | +---------------+-----------------------+-----------------+-------------+ | Auditability | Poor(R) | Excellent | Excellent | +---------------+-----------------------+-----------------+-------------+ | Permanency | Poor(R) | Excellent | Excellent | +---------------+-----------------------+-----------------+-------------+ | Resorbtion[*] | Guaranteed(R) | None | Yes(Y)[0] | +---------------+-----------------------+-----------------+-------------+ | Economy | Poor(R) | Excellent | Excellent | +---------------+-----------------------+-----------------+-------------+ | Incorporation | None(R) | Yes[1] | Yes | +---------------+-----------------------+-----------------+-------------+ | Bundling | Some (DLLs) (R) | Excellent | Excellent | +---------------+-----------------------+-----------------+-------------+ | Malleability | Poor(R) | Excellent | Excellent | +---------------+-----------------------+-----------------+-------------+ | Obscurity | None(R) | None(Y)[2] | Yes(Y)[3] | +---------------+-----------------------+-----------------+-------------+ | Ownership | None(R) | Total/Joint[4] | Total/Joint[4] | +---------------+-----------------------+-----------------+-------------+ | Exclusivity | None(R) | None(R) | None(R) | +---------------+-----------------------+-----------------+-------------+ | Shareable | No(R) | Excellent | Yes(Y)[5] | +---------------+-----------------------+-----------------+-------------+
[*] Does this word exist? Not according to webster's online... [0] if I understood what resorbtion means, only if you do not free the program [1] if you incorporate GPL code in other products, they must themselves become GPL'ed [2] only if algorithm is very complicated and/or is obfuscated [3] only if source is not redistributed [4] Depends on wether you're the only author or not [5] May not boomerang
Rui, thanks for spreading the word. I believe more people should see the categories of Free Software page on the FSF's webpage:
http://www.fsf.org/philosophy/categories.html
On Mon, Feb 10, 2003 at 04:34:20PM +0000, Rui Miguel Seabra wrote:
GPL is as much opensource as much as BSD (well, the modified version, which is what most BSD instances are) is Free Software.
The "original" BSI license is also Free Software, it just as pratical problems, thus a GPL-Incompatible, Free Software License.
On Mon, 2003-02-10 at 17:01, Bernhard Reiter wrote:
thanks for spreading the word.
/me bows gracefully
On Mon, Feb 10, 2003 at 04:34:20PM +0000, Rui Miguel Seabra wrote:
GPL is as much opensource as much as BSD (well, the modified version, which is what most BSD instances are) is Free Software.
The "original" BSI license is also Free Software, it just as pratical problems, thus a GPL-Incompatible, Free Software License.
oops! Indeed, I just confused it when remembering by heart. I should have confirmed!