Wireshark · Ethereal-dev: Re: [ethereal-dev] Ethereal and H.323 dissector possible license solution

[Bill Fumerola <billf@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Tue, Sep 19, 2000 at 06:47:17PM +0200, Florian Lohoff wrote:

> Me and a lot of others disagree with that. The virulogic clause
> of the GPL causes people to be sure that THEIR work will be free
> FOREVER. 

I believe the word you're looking for is "encumbered" not "free".

If it was "free" I could put it in my product and do whatever I'd
like with it.

>	   And i think the Free Software (Not Open Source) movement
> got this momentum due to people believing in this fact.

Well, that just proves that like many other times in history[1] a lot
of gullible people can be led astray.

> This is a very much political issue and it has been talked about 
> enough already.

Back to the topic at hand...

If the ethereal developers really feel that the heavy restrictions
of the GPL is worth the comfort that you get by knowing someone
can't just make a binary program called Athereal, then they're going
to have to realize that they are going to get hit hard when someone
else submits something in a non-GPVirus licensed.

I think it's more likely that you'll attract corporate developers
who don't want to deal with a million clause license just so Ethereal
can display their protocol. They'll have their own license and since
the GPV is so protective of being the only license in town, they'll
just not submit. Think it won't happen? It already has in multiple
projects.

-- 
Bill Fumerola - Network Architect, BOFH / Chimes, Inc.
                billf@xxxxxxxxxxxxx / billf@xxxxxxxxxxx


1. the earth is flat, the earth is the center of the universe,
   slave ownership, year 2000 world-ending, Linux rules