Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!pacbell!osc!tma
From: tma@osc.COM (Tim Atkins)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Re: libg++ and copylefts
Message-ID: <421@osc.COM>
Date: 19 Jul 89 07:36:31 GMT
References: <2053@dataio.Data-IO.COM> <6590203@hplsla.HP.COM> <904@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Reply-To: tma@osc.UUCP (Tim Atkins)
Organization: Object Sciences Corp., Menlo Park, CA
Lines: 17

>
>Copylefting library code means that no one will steal them.  If you
>want to steal code,  then I think GNU should do everything it can to
>stop you.  
>

The concept of stealing is logically dependent on the concept of ownership.
I was under the impression that the notion of ownership of software,  particu-
larly software in the tools category, was precisely what the FSF wished to
fight.  Personally, I have no problem with the notion of ownership of ones
intellectual product and therefore little sympathy with the goals of FSF.

I much prefer to trade a fixed number of dollars for other peoples software
than the apparent FSF alternative of abrogating my own future rights for the
dubious benefit of using their "free" code.

- Tim Atkins