Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!bbn!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!lll-winken!uunet!algor2!jeffrey
From: jeffrey@algor2.UUCP (Jeffrey Kegler)
Newsgroups: gnu.gcc
Subject: Re: FSF Hypocrisy
Message-ID: <450@algor2.UUCP>
Date: 7 Jun 89 05:54:36 GMT
References: <2129@internal.Apple.COM> <1107@mailrus.cc.umich.edu> <6862@medusa.cs.purdue.edu>
Reply-To: jeffrey@algor2.UUCP (Jeffrey Kegler)
Organization: Algorists, Inc., Reston VA
Lines: 33

In article <6862@medusa.cs.purdue.edu> spaf@cs.purdue.edu
(Gene Spafford) writes:
>
>If I use the gcc compiler for my project
>and want to provide it to some companies to test against "real world"
>data, they won't take it.  The folks at Bellcore, AT&T, IBM, DEC, and
>a bunch of others have already told me that they won't.  Why?  Because
>their corporate lawyers don't want to take any chance at all that
>internal project code is "contaminated" with copyleft software.

The contamination aspect is a feature of the freerighting (or copyleft).
In fact, it is its central feature.  How often have you seen a large amount
of public domain code infected with some proprietary stuff and removed from
the public domain?  It imposes difficulties, of course.  It has to.

I make my living writing software.  If I use GNU stuff I have to let my
clients know about the restrictions.  All of them will resent them to one
degree or another.  It will be a major inconvenience.  But the
inconvenience of secret software has been far worse.

How often have you encountered the situation where you need a bug fixed, a
feature documented, or an add-on written and the vendor refuses to allow
you to do it, or to do it himself?  How can really quality software evolve
in the absence of exchange of ideas, fixes, etc.?

DEC, IBM, Bellcore, AT&T feel inconvenienced because the freerighting will
mean they are no longer able to inconvenience others.  To remove the
inconvenience is to remove the entire purpose of freerighting.
-- 

Jeffrey Kegler, President, Algorists,
jeffrey@algor2.UU.NET or uunet!algor2!jeffrey
1762 Wainwright DR, Reston VA 22090