undefined | Better HN

0 pointsZenoArrow8y ago0 comments

> ""Open Source" at best weakens this tool, and as we've seen today, spreads confusion."

How does it spread confusion? How does it weaken free software? Open source and free software are just two different approaches to collaborative software development. There's no confusion in my mind about the benefits they both offer.

As for the GPL as a weapon, there's a reason why GPL is falling out of favour. If open source did not exist, most companies simply wouldn't bother sharing source code. How would that help you?

0 comments

3 comments · 1 top-level

carapace8y ago· 2 in thread

> Open source and free software are just two different approaches to collaborative software development.

That is the confusion. They are not. The fact that you think so is exactly the confusion I'm complaining about.

GPL is a fire extinguisher, "Open Source" is a bottle of seltzer water, they are not two different approaches to fire-fighting.

It doesn't matter to me how many companies choose to be on fire I still do not want to burn with them.

ZenoArrowOP8y ago

> "That is the confusion. They are not. The fact that you think so is exactly the confusion I'm complaining about."

It seems to me that your general argument appears to be based on the GPL being hostile to companies by design. Is that a fair summary?

carapace8y ago

No. That's not correct at all. I am pro-business. I like capitalism (as an API not an ideology.) If I thought the GPL was "hostile" to making a buck I wouldn't advocate it.

A business model based on providing software and keeping it secret is fundamentally anti-social and stupid. This is even before we encounter things like cars that lie about their emissions, still at the stage where you can't repair your own tractor.

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse