MS-Funded Study Attacks GPL3 Draft Process

QCMBR writes "A new Microsoft-funded study by a Harvard Business School professor concludes that developers don't want extensive patent licensing requirements in the GPL3. There are significant problems with the study, however, especially given the very small sample size. 'Although 332 emails were sent to various developers, only 34 agreed to participate in the survey — an 11 percent response rate. Of the 34 developers who responded, many of them are associated with projects like Apache and PostgreSQL that don't even use the GPL.' Ars points out that the GPL3 draft editing and review process is highly transparent and inclusive 'to an extent that makes MacCormack's claims of under-representation seem difficult to accept given the small sample size of the study and the number of respondents who contribute to non-GPL projects.'"

Comments

Surprised Harvard would Sell Their Reputation.

[twitter]

Does anyone really expect that Microsoft would fund a completely selfless and accurate poll no matter what the subject?

No, but I do expect public companies to tell the truth. M$ is a disgrace.

What's worse is that someone at Harvard would agree to publish such bullshit. Harvard Business School just lost a large chunk of their reputation, if the summary is not itself a lie. No, looking at the paper this guy from Keystone Strategy Inc really has sold his and Harvard's reputation.

M$ Undermined the Study Themselves.

[twitter]

If nothing else, the GPL drafting process doesn't even need to open.

If the purpose was to create Open/Free conflict, they have failed miserably. The M$/Novel deal and M$ saber rattling about patents has done a great job of justifying every sentiment in the first drafts. Community input has clarified the wording and that helps too. The author might have gotten a better reception if he had managed to finish this FUD attack a few weeks ago. As things stand, they have a far more unified free software community. The backfire from all of this is an order of magnitude worse than the SCO case.

M$'s intentions have been laid bare and all of their talk about "building bridges" and "interoperability" and so on and so forth is empty and meaningless. They want to charge money for other people's work and would claim ownership through bogus patents. Is there anyone outside of Fortune who will listen to them now?

"I liken the software I write to my children"

[botsmaster25]

The software you write is nothing more than instructions for machines to execute. Comparing it to living breathing people is a joke.

Were you serious when you wrote this line, "To me, the whole "BSD is more free because it allows anybody to do anything with your code" is akin to "Country Xyzpdq is more free because it allows anybody to do anything with anybody". That argument falls short pretty quickly when people start going around taking your stuff or killing your friends or family. BSD license = ANARCHY!!!!!!!!!!

Best description of the GPL ever

[s20451]

I liken the software I write to my children. A BSD license is like me saying you can do anything you want to with my child including enslaving him and making him work for your own personal profit. Or perhaps more like using my child to help you create your own child that you will then enslave for your own profit.

Right, because if you modify my child, say by replacing his arm with a laser gun, I want to be able to benefit from the modification for home repairs and such when he's on leave from your borg army. That's how the GPL works.

only pointing out what I consider to be the silliness of the argument.

You're right, your argument is totally sane and well thought out.

Re:Sometimes the truth hurts

[mrchaotica]

No, we'll call it astroturf beacuse you're being an asshole by first, defaming the people you're talking to, and second, repeatedly stating an assertion without backing it up with any actual evidence. You didn't need the survey to tell you the GPLv3 is unpopular; fine. What did tell you that?

I know I shouldn't feed the trolls, but I had the urge to explain exactly why you need to shut the fuck up anyway.