alt Hacker NewsIt may be true, but the GPL is uniquely positioned to create a floor that ratchets upwards, whereas the other licenses are susceptible to being consumed and extended.
Replies
conartist6 • yesterday at 4:03 PM
I thought the author made the case that because of complexity economics the ratchet still works either way, and in fact that in 2025 GPL is actually a less-strong ratchet compared to Apache and MIT. If GPL was the stronger Ratchet you wouldn't ever expect to see an existential risk to a GPL project posed by an Apache one right?
True, but the article makes a point that it's very hard and unlikely to maintain technological superiority over a coproration that's determined enough. A corporation simply has much more resources. See also: https://hypercritical.co/2013/04/12/code-hard-or-go-home