Re: [libreplanet-discuss] Dealing with blind hatred for the GPL

[Daniel Pocock]

On 27/02/16 13:44, Fabio Pesari wrote:
> Many people (especially in the open source community) hate the GPL more
> than they hate proprietary software, especially the GPLv3. I never found
> an approach that works with those people.
> 
> Mention "freedom" and they'll say the GPL is "restrictive" and "viral".
> 

Facebook is viral, many people consider that to be a reason for its
success (whether you like it or not)

> Mention practical advantages and they'll say "corporations don't touch
> anything GPL".
> 

People say that, but it is a bit like people telling you that house
prices will go up forever, it is something they got in their head but
can't prove and is ultimately false (if house prices go up forever,
nobody will be able to buy them at some point).


> Mention the dangers of proprietary software and they'll say it doesn't
> matter if the program in question is practically better.
> 
> Mention existing famous GPL projects and they'll argue that some of them
> didn't switch to GPLv3 (like Linux and Blender).
> 
> Actually, mentioning the GPL at all will get you covered with insults
> and accusations of zealotry.
> 
> Showing them articles from GNU.org doesn't work, and will only result in
> ad hominem attacks against their author, Richard Stallman.
> 
> This reminds me of Two Minutes Hate from 1984.
> 
> How to reason with those people? They tend to gang up and it's very hard
> to get your point across when everybody is agreeing with one another on
> how stupid and brainwashed you are!
> 


Start with yourself, do what you feel is correct and some people will
follow your example.

There are hundreds of thousands of young developers around the world
today, especially in places like India and China, who are still forming
their own opinions about what is right and wrong.  Don't waste time on
people who have already convinced themselves with nonsense, there are
plenty of other people you can talk to about software freedom.  GSoC is
just getting under way again soon and that provides a great opportunity
to help students understand licensing choices as they start projects.

I typically tell the students to use GPL as a default but if somebody
fully pays for their work and tells them to use another license then
they are obliged to use that license or work for somebody else.

Regards,

Daniel