Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!rochester!kodak!lance
From: lance@kodak.UUCP (Dan Lance)
Newsgroups: gnu.gcc
Subject: Re: The Sententious Parvenu Speaks
Message-ID: <1924@kodak.UUCP>
Date: 10 Jun 89 07:47:08 GMT
References: <2129@internal.Apple.COM> <1107@mailrus.cc.umich.edu> <6862@medusa.cs.purdue.edu> <16318@paris.ics.uci.edu> <131@arrakis.UUCP>
Reply-To: lance@kodak.UUCP (Dan Lance)
Organization: Eastman Kodak Co, Rochester, NY
Lines: 20

In article <131@arrakis.UUCP> pax@arrakis.UUCP writes:
>Imposing restrictions on the distribution of software and then calling it 
>Free is antithetical!

Free does not mean public domain.  Free means that one can get copies of the
software and licenses without paying the owner any money.  One is still obliged
to respect the software's copyright.

Here's an example:  If I have a book and, being done with it, I give it to you,
you have gotten it for free.   You cannot go out and run that book through a
photocopier, for such would violate the copyright -- even though you entered
into no contract with the author and paid him no money.

GNU Licenses are free:  they cost you no money.  They do not remove from you
the obligation to prevent hoarding of the software.

I find it amazing that so much misinterpretation exists on this simple point.

--drl
Daniel R. Lance / drl@kodak.com