License Proliferation

[Alex Bligh]

--On 05 September 2005 09:34 +0200 Lasse Reichstein Nielsen 
<atwork at infimum.dk> wrote:

>> I don't think anyone would argue against the idea that anythingthat
>> impairs code reuse between projects is a bad thing.
>
> I don't think everybody thinks impairing reuse between projects is bad.

No they don't. Those who license their code under the GPL take a conscious
decision to prevent code reuse under other licenses (e.g. BSD) and they see
this is a good thing not a bad (I am NOT saying in any way this is a bad
thing or a wrong view). For instance, if you want to write (say) a device
driver, you can GPL your code, BSD your code, or dual BSD/GPL your code. If
your prime use is Linux, all of the above will work. But if you chose GPL
only, you ensure your code can't be (re)used in (say) FreeBSD. That is an
entirely conscious decision for many people (who are aware of this), they
do it for the reasons the FSF sets out, but it is there to deliberately
impair code reuse (and a fortiori to stop use in commercial projects).

Alex