alt Hacker NewsThis whole argument hinges on the statement that the GPL "does nothing for users" but is "annoying for developers". I dispute both of these claims.
GPL is all about doing something for users. It is users who are able to request source code. My entire network setup is based on the fact that I can customize my router which I can only do because users were able to request the source for the router in order to customize it.
When it comes to "annoying for developers" we need to be clear. The GPL is annoying for developers of software that is not open source. It annoys them because it says they must either take the open source deal or else rewrite it themselves. Apple has famously used a lot of time and money to rewrite GPLd thengs. This is the goal.
OTOH open source developers need not be annoyed by any GPL dependency since they can always use it without any trouble to themselves.
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Compared to permissive licences (from the user's POV), GPL is merery a guarantee that a proprietary fork won't left you behind in the dust overnight. That's a rather strong guarantee that most people (including myself) don't need. I'm fine with a "plain" guarantee to fork the last free version. In exchange, I usually get better, well-supported software with more corporate contributions.
> Apple has famously used a lot of time and money to rewrite GPLd thengs. This is the goal.
As an aside, that's a terrible goal. Rewriting the same projects over and over is a waste of human potential. We could be solving unsolved problems and actually making the world better, instead of pursuing this weird and misguided notion of "fairness"
> The GPL is annoying for developers of software that is not open source.
It is also annoying for developers of open-source software that is not GPL-licensed.
This,
Moreover, a company can release a GPL'd version of their software and also offer a commercial license for their software (see Qt etc). So someone who's charging for their software can use it if they themselves pay. Some commercial vendors might annoyed by even this. But it would seem they "doth protest too much".
> OTOH open source developers need not be annoyed by any GPL dependency since they can always use it without any trouble to themselves.
Counterpoint: GPLv2-only is an absolute PITA to deal with but that's the point; GPL (especially v2-only or v3+section7b,7c) is good at preventing hostile forks