Linux Developers Asked To Distance Themselves From RMS

[edmon]

Those who paid too much attention to what RMS said, must be punished with firmware upgrade in their heads!

[Sergio]

It's funny that you accuse him of trolling when he actually has a point and your post is a petty ad hominem attack.

Yeah, a true revelation what he has to say...
Just take a look at his posts on Phoronix (click on his name, and "View Forum Posts"), and his multiple accounts (BSDSucksDicks, etc), banned like a hundred times. Also take a look at his blog (http://aboutthebsds.wordpress.com). This guy is a legend!

[D0pamine]

RMS has always been an impractical idealist. However, things that were considered his feverish dreams are now mainstream. To be able to move forward, there must be people advocating for an ideal world or we will stop approaching it.

While the proportion of GNU code in a modern Linux distribution is not what it was before, still in each Ubuntu or Fedora or even Android, there is far more GNU than Linux. There is a bunch of competing projects that sometimes reduce that, but it is very important to never forget where we came from. The whole closed source saga was posiible, because early programmers simply did not understand the values and global benefits of software freedom that they then had. We must never forget the lessons of software history or we shall be doomed to repeat it.

+1
well said

[zester]

On the contrary, patent trolls are slowly undermining the foundations of the patent system itself so in a way - unintentionally of course - they are playing right into our hands. Tivoization on the other hand is a very serious problem because it implies abusing GPL-ed code to facilitate and promote DRM. Helping forge tools of our oppression somehow doesn't feel comfortable at all.

I don't dissagree with you or the others who have made the same argument, I was once a very strong advocate of the GPL/LGPL.
But my perseption of "True Freedom" has changed and "I" don't feel comfortable forcing others to do anything they don't want to.
I feel good people will make good choices, without being forced to, and the bad well lets not worry about them as good always wins

Tivoization and DRM isn't something your going to be able to stop, it happens now even with the GPL in place and to a much greater
extent then in the past. Working on the ARM platform, I have seen "Thousands" of uninforcable blatant GPL2/3 violations.

[zester]

Yeah, a true revelation what he has to say...
Just take a look at his posts on Phoronix (click on his name, and "View Forum Posts"), and his multiple accounts (BSDSucksDicks, etc), banned like a hundred times. Also take a look at his blog (http://aboutthebsds.wordpress.com). This guy is a legend!

He's a Troll I am a Legend!!!!! But we do share a simular disdane for several differant people and projects.

[mrugiero]

I don't dissagree with you or the others who have made the same argument, I was once a very strong advocate of the GPL/LGPL.
But my perseption of "True Freedom" has changed and "I" don't feel comfortable forcing others to do anything they don't want to.
I feel good people will make good choices, without being forced to, and the bad well lets not worry about them as good always wins

Tivoization and DRM isn't something your going to be able to stop, it happens now even with the GPL in place and to a much greater
extent then in the past. Working on the ARM platform, I have seen "Thousands" of uninforcable blatant GPL2/3 violations.

I'd like very much to see things the way you see them, but I don't think it's true that good always wins, and even though you won't probably be able to stop DRM and tivoization with the GPL (either version), you can avoid helping them. Again, GPLv3 (or any version) doesn't "force" nobody to do anything, but the choice to use such code. You want to use the code, you DECIDE to use the code, you DECIDE to follow the conditions you have to follow to use it. Nobody forces you to use it, so nobody forces you to follow the conditions. You just put conditions, deciding what others can or can't do with your code. If you don't want to help people who doesn't care about freedom, it's your choice to make, not someone else's. About enforcement, it's the copyright owner the one to make the call.

[prodigy_]

But my perseption of "True Freedom" has changed and "I" don't feel comfortable forcing others to do anything they don't want to.

Perhaps that has something to do with you "working on the ARM platform" now? Sold out, mate?

Tivoization and DRM isn't something your going to be able to stop

We're not idealists. We don't think in booleans. We can't stop them from abusing every little piece of GPL-sheltered code but at least we can keep them away from the most important pieces. That's a step in the right direction and it's better than nothing.

[zester]

I'd like very much to see things the way you see them, but I don't think it's true that good always wins.

Have a little faith, humanity want's to be good by default. There are always those that will sit on the sidelines waiting for the person standing next to them
to make the first move but once momentum builds they just can't help but join the parade. Sometimes that parade sings Christmas carols to a sick little girl

http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/25/us/christmas-carol-girl-dies/

And even though you won't probably be able to stop DRM and Tivoization with the GPL (either version), you can avoid helping them. Again, GPLv3 (or any version) doesn't "force" nobody to do anything, but the choice to use such code. You want to use the code, you DECIDE to use the code, you DECIDE to follow the conditions you have to follow to use it. Nobody forces you to use it, so nobody forces you to follow the conditions. You just put conditions, deciding what others can or can't do with your code. If you don't want to help people who doesn't care about freedom, it's your choice to make, not someone else's. About enforcement, it's the copyright owner the one to make the call.

Tivoization works both ways, and its far easier to move a code base forward BSD -> GPL than in the reverse direction. Keep in mind "Proprietary Software" makers
fear the GPL and normally avoid it at all cost. You wan't to control a platform then you need to think outside the box.

[zester]

Perhaps that has something to do with you "working on the ARM platform" now? Sold out, mate?

I have (x86, x86_64 and ARM) hardware that I test on I support that hardware because that is what I have, ARM is a horrible company and no friend to OSS or the Linux Community. I have no loyalty to them. BUT there are 1 Billion+ ARM devices in the world that are begging to be liberated

We're not idealists. We don't think in booleans. We can't stop them from abusing every little piece of GPL-sheltered code but at least we can keep them away from the most important pieces. That's a step in the right direction and it's better than nothing.

See my response to mrugiero in regards to Tivoization.

[prodigy_]

Tivoization works both ways, and its far easier to move a code base forward BSD -> GPL than in the reverse direction.

I could inquire as to the definition of "easier" in this case but let's just say generally your statement isn't true as long it's only your own code you're trying to move. Nobody forces you to use a particular license for your code.

Keep in mind "Proprietary Software" makers fear the GPL and normally avoid it at all cost. You wan't to control a platform then you need to think outside the box.

We don't want control. We want to ensure nobody else has it (or come as close to ensuring it as possible anyway).