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YABGC: Yet Another BSD GPL Comparison

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the stuff-to-read dept.

jay_rf writes "Found this by way of Linux Today: BSD vs. GPL posted at OS Opinion. " Its an ongoing debate, but what do you think about it?

4 of 287 comments (clear)

  1. Why was this posted? by Brian+Knotts · · Score: 5
    There is no content there; just some brief rantings by a license kook. He doesn't even discuss the two licenses' relative merits and shortcomings.

    OS Opinion is like Slashdot without the stories.

  2. Is BSD more free than GPL by Rupert · · Score: 4

    Depends on your perspective. From the point of view of someone who is not the original author (or the copyright holder, if they are not the same) then BSD is more free. You can do what you want with the code. But for the author/copyright holder, GPL has an advantage that noone can take your code and improve it without the changes being available to you.

    If I were releasing code under a free licence, I would choose the GPL. If I were using someone elses code to incorporate into a commercial product, I'd prefer it be under the BSDL.

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  3. Bar! by 0xdeadbeef · · Score: 4

    The difference is that nobody really gives a damn about the IP owned by RedHat or VA. Everything of actual value, the GPL code, will always remain available to to everyone. And since Redhat is actually adding value to it, by writing new code and producing a viable market for it, we all win by helping them out, whether we own stock or not. The relationship is symbiotic, rather than parasitical.

  4. New Slashdot section: License Flaming by agshekeloh · · Score: 5

    I don't think that anyone can deny that the GPL has a definite political agenda behind it.

    The BSDL is fairly free of politics, at least to the extent that any human interaction can be.

    Both are "free", for some definition of the word free. These arguments are purely political.

    Human beings have argued over politics since Thuack the Caveman smacked Oog over the head for leadership of the tribe. We might as well argue Democrat versus Republican, or capitalist versus communist, or Throbbing Gristle versus SPK.

    I didn't choose my OS based on the license. I chose it because it was the right tool for the job I do. I would be perfectly happy to have FreeBSD available under the GPL. I would be perfectly happy to have Linux available under the BSDL. Under either license, users return code to the project.

    Either way, as an end-user, I get software that doesn't suck. It might not be great, all the time, but it doesn't suck.

    Perhaps Slashdot should open a new section: Political License Flaming.