Bruce Perens: Clearing up anti-GPL3 FUD
There's been a lot of talk about GPL version 3: whether it goes too far to be acceptable to business, whether the Linux kernel developers will accept it, whether our community will fork or undergo unrest over it. Much of that talk is based on a poor understanding of the GPL3 terms, and with release of the new license imminent, it's time to clear that up.
Some of the bad publicity about GPL3 is deliberate. A particularly bad article by Dan Lyons of Forbes magazine painted an offensive picture of GPL3 and Richard Stallman, even accusing Stallman of having sex with flowers (!!!) after Lyons failed to comprehend a scientific joke [1]. The article was "pitched" to Lyons and Forbes [2] by then OSDL director Stuart Cohen. ODSL was abruptly shut down by its own members, eliminating Cohen's job, after Lyons' article and another odious incident [3]. To save face, it was announced that OSDL would be "merged" with Free Standards Group.
Confused objectors to GPL3 state that it won't allow the Linux kernel to be used on a system that implements DRM, and will compel manufacturers to "give away their keys". If Linus Torvalds and the kernel developers still believe this, they're wrong.
Also:
We are not talking here about Constitutional principle, but a court interpretation that can be overidden by Congress. Or a higher court.
That's what Stallman wants Microsoft to support, and GPL V.3 is his leverage in that effort. Microsoft has just been hit by an immense judgement for its use of MP3, a software algorithm. While Microsoft today is very much in favor of software patents, this has not always been the case.
It's not Stallman you should be dumping on for inconsistency, or Stallman whose mind you should be looking to change. It's Steve Ballmer's. He's changed it once. He can change it again.
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