Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!ginosko!uunet!mcsun!hp4nl!eutrc3!euteal!plato From: plato@ele.tue.nl (plato) Newsgroups: gnu.misc.discuss Subject: Re: Why I do not support GNU Message-ID: <132@euteal.ele.tue.nl> Date: 19 Oct 89 08:38:28 GMT References: <8910160520.AA01740@sugar-bombs.ai.mit.edu> <47006@bbn.COM> <4792@internal.Apple.COM> Distribution: gnu Organization: Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands Lines: 27 In article <4792@internal.Apple.COM> desnoyer@apple.com (Peter Desnoyers) writes: >Do you use the X window system on a workstation like a MicroVax or a Sun? >X is "public domain". The program running on your machine is copyright by >the workstation manufacturer who ported the code. The X people are >probably comfortable with this, as they have achieved the goal of creating >a widely-used standard. The FSF, however, is probably not interested in >going to a lot of effort so that other companies can copyright FSF work >and prevent it from being freely distributed. It's ok with me. I don't mind if I someone ported the stuff for me. BTW if I really want to have a lot of work, I can always get the MIT distribution tape and port the stuff myself. In fact it works the other way around. Many more people (including me) would use the gnu stuff it it was supported by their computer company. Unfortunately, since some wierd person has invented the copyleft, no firm supplies the gnu software. >How many machines do you think GCC would have been ported to if it were >public domain? Probably about as many as now; maybe a few more. How many >of these ports would you be able to use? Whichever ones the FSF wrote - >VAX and 68xxx (I think). Period. The rest of them would be proprietary. If, e.g. gcc were public domain and a supplier of one of our machines, let's say the Alliant, I would definitely use gcc if available since it cannot be worse than the c compiler Alliant supplies us with. The copyleft only prevents gnu software from getting to the users. It should be banned!