Re: [Opengc-devel] status/Avsim conference update/RFC

[John W. <ca...@mm...>]

> Thoughts? Opinions? John - since you're the other major developer in
> the history of OpenGC, what do you think about this?
>
As I understand the GPL there is nothing to preclude the use of open-source
software for commercial purposes provided the resultant code is provided
and/or made available along with the binary executable. The problem arises
trying to distinguish between source code that is integral to the program
vis-a-vis programs that link to a library or can be considered unique and
seperate

IMO OpenGC in it's current form and structure is not amenable to the spirit
and intent of the GPL. Quite frankly, starting an open-source project and
then suggesting a change in the license is a bit ingenuous. My suggstion
would be to go for a "clean room" approach, but that will require a third
entity not exposed to the source to create a spec or design document based
on observations of the programs performance.

Trying to produced closed-source and open-source programs under the same
license will most likely result in the open-source side stagnating and
eventually being overwhelmed by the closed-source-portion. It would have a
very chilling effect on new ideas and innovations from the community at
large.

Regards
John W.