Michael Downey 🇺🇳

Can someone help me understand?

If #OpenSource is "free labor for corporations", how exactly is it not *also* "free labor for individuals" or small groups of citizens?

#FreeSoftware #FLOSS #FOSS #t

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Lofenyy

@downey Throw in a GPL license and it's free labor for everyone. Everyone benefits by using the GPL.

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Antonino Siena

@Lofenyy @downey Freedom is not something the GPL endorses.
Id rather use the MPL if it were for copyleft.

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Lofenyy

@nifker @downey Do explain.

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Antonino Siena

@Lofenyy @downey The GPL is just long - very LONG and just something I wont read, even most contracts I signed were much shorter than that.
It has heavy licensing issues when it comes to code integration with other licenses, see e.g. Linux.

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Lofenyy

@nifker @downey You don't like it because it's a restrictive license, meaning you can do less with it?

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Antonino Siena

@Lofenyy @downey Strictly said yes.

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Lofenyy
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@nifker @downey However, in the software world, where once info is modified, it can be relicensed at will. This means that if a peice of software requires spurce code distribution but allows relicensing, a big company can come along, duplicate the work, extend it with features and antifeatures and publish it without the source code and a new license. This is far from ideal and harms people.

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Antonino Siena

@Lofenyy @downey At that point I will simply not use their relicensed software.

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Lofenyy

@nifker @downey The thing is, you likely wouldn't know. A lot of the software that runs on a computer does so without the user knowing. Avoiding relicensed software would require running only free software, which is especially difficult if you own a cell phone.

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