[Zope] Zope and the GPL poison pill

[Jim Hebert]

On Tue, 12 Sep 2000, Nils Kassube wrote:

> The problem is not that a client who paid for custom development
> will get the source. It's the fact that you have to release the
> source code of an enhanced GPL'ed component (and possibly stuff
> built with it) for everyone else, too. 

*gasp* Your client will have *RIGHTS*, and won't be beholden to you?
Like the right to post a code snippet of yours to this list and say "the
original developer wants $9999 to debug this problem, can someone else
help me?" Perish the thought! How will you ever become rich if you can't
get on the "pay me to fix it, or pay someone else to start from scratch"
train?

Look, I'm the last person on earth to say the GPL is perfect, or is the
one true license, or anything else. I've heard a number of GOOD arguments
in a number of venues about why the GPL may not be the best choice in that
setting.

But this thread boils down to a bunch of people who want to sell a
solution which includes work other than their own, receive all the money
from the sale, bar the client from getting other 3rd parties to help
them improve what they paid for, and further have a legal monopoly on
distributing that solution to any additional people.

What utter bald-faced greed and ingratitude. You are actually bemoaning
the fact, on a public list, that you'll have to write things from scratch
if you want to have the right set the terms of distribution on those
things. You're begrudging others the right to set the terms of
distribution on their things, because it impinges on your ability to make
a profit. You're simply pointing out that you'll have to do more work to
make your money this way.

What exactly about all of that is supposed to tug at the heartstrings of
people who routinely give you free code whose real dollar value easily
exceeds what either of us makes in a year?

Unbelievable.

jim
Not speaking for Cosource.com or Vistasource.com.

PS I am *very* grateful for all of the amazing free software that the Zope
community produces under ALL of its licenses. Thank you all, so much! The
size of the gift you give is already mind boggling, so to those of you who
choose the GPL, please ignore the ingrates who would ask you to make the
gift even "larger" by giving up your copyleft.

PPS Next time you think about comparing a world in which you had Product
X, GPL'd and Product X, non-copylefted, try comparing a world in which you
had Product X, GPL'd and had nothing because they won't distribute it
under any terms whatsoever. It's easy to ask for even more generosity from
someone when you take what you already have for granted. Try respecting
the size of the gift you've already received for a bit of perspective.