Re: lynx-dev On invitations and pressure

[Serge Munhoven]

On Sun, Jan 31, 1999 at 08:45:05PM -0500, Richard Stallman wrote:
 >      All of my objections center around one insurmountable obstacle.  You (I
 >      think more RMS than GNU/FSF) insist that if GNU software is included
 >      into a "proprietary" project, that project must become "free" by your
 >      definition.
 >  
 >  I think what you have in mind is the GNU GPL, rather than me or the
 >  GNU Project.  The GPL is the preferred license for GNU software
 >  generally; in addition, many other projects and people that are not
 >  part of GNU also choose to use the GNU GPL.  But your description of
 >  the GNU GPL is not quite accurate.
 >  
 >  The GPL does not actually insist that "You must make your program
 >  free"--there is no way anyone can insist on that.  What the GPL does
 >  insist on is that if you write a non-free program, you must not use
 >  our code in it.
 >  
 >  People often choose to make a program free, in order to have
 >  permission to use GPL-covered code in it.  We who use the GPL
 >  typically hope to *influence* others in this way--I certainly do.  But
 >  the GPL doesn't *force* anyone to do so.  People who firmly refuse to
 >  make their software free still have the legal option of not using our
 >  code, or removing our code if they did use it without permission.

Some "other projects and people" preferred to clarify their license terms.
In the news today: LyX  http://www.lyx.org/license.html
Curriously just a character away from lynx, and a few paragraphs from GPL.

OTOH we just received a new system with factory installed software, including
subset "OSFEMACS435 GNU Emacs (General Applications)". (going to wipe the whole
thing out tomorrow ... no not for fear of the FSF, neither of Emacs; just
because I don't like the partitioning and already have a more recent XEmacs :-)

A lot of gray (grey) ink in the GPL ?

 - Serge