[Phpgroupware-developers] licene debate was: We cant continue to work like we do at the moment

[Dan Kuykendall]

Reiner Jung wrote:

> > Have you ever read the GPL/LGPL and what the FSF has to say?
> > We are licensed under the GPL/LGPL for a reason. Those licenses are 
> > political by nature and are generally described as "Social Contracts" 
> > more than legal ones.
> >
> > Dan
> >    
>
> Maybe you read the license from cool projects/people like BSD/Theo de
> Raadt ( www.openbsd.org )  
> This is really free software. 
>  
I am very well aware of the BSD license, and I specificly choose the GPL 
instead.

While yes, the BSD license can be called more free in one way, its also 
less free in another. Basicly the freedom I want is the freedom of the 
code, whereas the BSD is more free for the user. Example, the BSD 
license allows people to take the code and enslave it by taking it and 
making alterate versions propritary. The GPL does not allow the code to 
become enslaved by anyone.
To also explain why I support the LGPL for the API is that is still 
protected from becoming enslaved, yet it doesnt put limits on working 
with enslaved add-on apps. The GCC is a good example of a compiler and 
base libs which can be used to create propritary apps. The idea is that 
if its not possible to do that, then many will be forced to use 
something else. Likewise businesses who need to have a proprietary app 
would have to choose some other base groupware solution. This is a loss 
to us, because it means less users and development from these sources on 
our GPL/LGPL'd parts. We loss nothing by allowing this, because all 
their changes to the GPL/LGPL'd parts must be fed back to us.

Dan