[After years of watching the software industry twist itself in knots trying to differentiate “open” vs. “free” and having to re-invent code simply because it had the wrong comments at the top, I think it’s time to put an end to the madness. This promoted me to write the following letter to Linus Torvalds, creator of the Linux kernel. -Ed]

Dear Linus,

Like you, I’m pragmatic, not dogmatic. I believe software wants to be used and shared, but licensing issues keep getting in the way. As an industry, we’re making this way too hard on ourselves. We’re wasting our energies on unproductive issues and unnecessary restrictions. Something’s got to give.

GPLv2, because of its ubiquity and common sense values, plays a central role in where we are today. It deserves a lot of credit, but it’s not without its flaws. GPLv3 started off trying to fix some of the problems but it became highly politicised and mixed up with the software equivalent of “social engineering”. Just look at the confusing distinction it makes between user and non-user products for example.

A license is no place for a political or social agenda. So I’ve got a radical idea I’d like you to consider:

Rest Here