Re: What about an OS monopoly under GNU license?

["Erick Andrews" <eandrews@star.net>]

On Wed, 25 Mar 1998 19:03:32 -0500 (EST), Brett Glass wrote:

>At 05:33 PM 3/25/98 -0500, P.A. Petricone wrote:
>
>>GPL is as viable a concept as any other in the spectrum of what software
>>is. Strikes me that, in the current industry climate, GPL has more of a
>>chance of an enduring life than something grounded in economic competition,
>>at the rate things are going.
>
>I would disagree. The rhetoric behind the GPL is a cross between
>John Lennon's "Imagine" ("Imagine no possessions....") and a 
>general belief that all businesses that make money by publishing 
>software without the source code are inherently evil! I don't 
>think we could exactly expect the software industry to flourish 
>under such a regime.
>
>--Brett
>

OK, with my feeble mind (honestly, but tongue-in-cheek seriously), 
let me try to understand.

What I understand of this thread so far...

1.  The GPL  license lets me add code, but not "own" it, and that my 
source must be made public, with no remuneration for my ideas.  OK,
say I'm charitable, but what's the value here about about acknowledgement 
beyond proving my "worth" to "whomever"...recognition if you will...
which may be OK, and which may be a reasonable tenet to many of us?

2.  The 'BSD' thing says that, unlike GPL, I can own "my" code, and not
be forced to divulge my source listings, so long as...help me out here...
but I might have to rewrite a big bunch (of the BSD stuff?) if I want to
include it in a commercial package?  I'm sure I'm missing something here, 
but what are the BSD constraints?  I don't yet clearly understand the fine
points of the BSD terms, and terms there surely are.  If you could clarify 
this fine print I'd be most grateful.  

Now, do you believe at *all*, that there should be some value (either 
personal, or for some entity) that there should be incentive including
any manner of recognition, for doing such work, GPL-wise or BSD-wise?
I think this goes to the core of these licenses.

Best,
Erick

PS I wish the Beatles could make new music.