Re: GPL traitor !

[Chris Ahlstrom]

After takin' a swig o' grog, Tim Smith belched out
  this bit o' wisdom:

> In article <58_Ll.37296$9a.27249@bignews1.bellsouth.net>,
>  Chris Ahlstrom <ahlstromc@launchmodem.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Nobody can honestly not understand the main meanings of the GPL.
>
> Is it OK under GPL to release a plug-in for a GPL program, if the plugin 
> is under a license that is not compatible with GPL?
>
> Is it OK under GPL to release a GPL plug-in for a program that is under 
> a license that is not compatible with GPL?  E.g., could you release a 
> GPL plug-in for Word?

Jesus, you're as dense as Erik.  What part of "corner cases" and "main
meaning" did you not understand?

> If there are two libraries that perform the same functions, but with 
> different interfaces, and one library is under GPL, and the other is 
> under a GPL-incompatible license, is it OK to distribute code that can 
> be compiled to use either library?  You would not be distributing either 
> library--just your code, and telling the user to obtain (if they don't 
> already have it) whichever library they prefer, and compile for that.
>
> Would it be OK for Comcast to use GPL code in their DVR?  Note that 
> their DVR stops functioning if you are not hooked up to their system or 
> your account is not in good standing. 

Jesus, you're as dense as Erik.  What part of "corner cases" and "main
meaning" did you not understand?

And, in fact, you're probably taking it beyond legal considerations, into
the realm of a Free-software philosopher's feelings about ethics.

The fact is that honest people have found the GPL very straightforward and
useful, hence its popularity.  IBM legal eagles don't seem to mind it, even
if Microsoft found a way to break the spirit, if not the letter, of GPL 2.

-- 
In the plot, people came to the land; the land loved them; they worked and
struggled and had lots of children.  There was a Frenchman who talked funny
and a greenhorn from England who was a fancy-pants but when it came to the
crunch he was all courage.  Those novels would make you retch.
                -- Canadian novelist Robertson Davies, on the generic Canadian
                   novel.