Re: [Gramps-devel] licence gramps-connect

[Brian M. <br...@gr...>]

Gary,

> With much GPL code like Gramps, the "user" is usually the
> same person who executes the code. However, as soon as the
> GPL code goes behind a web server (or down at "Brian's
> Awesome Family Tree Report Store" - you're right there is
> absolutely no difference) then there is a split between the
> "user" and "executor". The executor - the person owning the
> web server - is not breaking the license of any GPL v2
> licensed code because he is not distributing it. This goes
> against the spirit of the GPL because the executor of the
> code can prevent the user from making modifications to the
> code - should he want to. If I am using someone's customised
> version of gramps-connect which they provide as a service on
> the web then I don't have the freedom to add that extra
> column to a report which I currently have if I use the GTK
> Gramps.
> 
> I think they worry about this in the Free Software
> community because it is seen as another way for traditional
> proprietry software vendors to circumvent F/OSS with an
> alternative form of proprietry software. One comes as a
> binary on a CD - the other is hidden behind a web server.
> From the user's point of view there is little difference
> with regards to their freedom to modify the software. Either
> way you don't see the source code.
> 
> There are two ways of dealing with this. I think the Apache
> Software Foundation sort of side-steps the problem with
> their BSD style license and effectively allows it to happen.
> The alternative is an AGPL style license which prevents it
> from happening.

Good insight. I find myself relating better to the "Open Source Software" group than the "Free Software" group. I guess what it comes down to is that I just don't really care what people do with code I write. I write it because I like to make good software - not because I want credit for it.

I did some more thinking about my use of Wordpress and how they use GPLv2. Then it occurred to me... what a horrible thing it would be if switched to GPLv3. 

Consider what I've done with my Wordpress installation. After I installed it, I found a few things I wanted to do a little differently. So I cracked open the code and hacked it up a little. Nothing major, and nothing that anyone else would probably want. In a couple of places, I hard coded my server address because I'm lazy. If Wordpress were GPLv3, I would be breaking the law if I didn't contribute back my trivial changes. Now consider that there are thousands of users like me using Wordpress with minor trivial changes. If thousands and thousands of people attempted to contribute back their hackings, where would they go? Who would sift through thousands of patches to see if anything is good? How would any of us find the "good" changes in all the stuff people are submitting in order to comply with the license. It would just create a mound of useless code and patches that would be of no use to anyone.

~Brian