Re: WineX and the AFPL

On Thu, 30 May 2002 21:26, Dimitrie O. Paun wrote:

> On May 30, 2002 01:05 pm, Sean C. Farley wrote:
>
> > It is a good analogy.  Wine is your child.  Transgaming is your in-law.
> > Wine and TransGaming are the parents of your grandchild (WineX).
>
> Interesting point. I wish things worked the way you present them. In
> fact, your view is probably more principled than mine, and I admire
> that.

It is hard to have high principles and then actually try to live up to
them.  I am not saying you have low principles.  :)  Personally, I feel
uneasy about (L)GPL projects "leaching" off of BSD projects.  They are
more of a threat than any company, but I try to bite my tongue and not
worry about them.  Companies can only take revenue away.  (L)GPL based
projects can take the developers away.

This is the only reason I even consider the "special" clause within the
OpenSSL license that keeps the source under the original license if
publicly distributed.  It still allows for open and closed source.

> Fact is, however (and now I speak for myself), that I am a bastard: I
> don't care about these grandchildren. Why? I don't know, and it's
> really not important -- it's a subjective feeling, and that's what
> counts. I have a big sentimental attachment to Wine, but I could care
> less about WineX.

If you do not care about these grandchildren, why worry about them?

> You may like all the projects using your code equally, and that's
> fine.  That's why you are a BSD guy, and I respect that. I, on the
> other hand, care only about the projects where I contribute. That's
> why I'm a (L)GPL guy. Can you understand that?

I understand that you care about the projects you contribute.  I do as
well.  Just because I contribute BSD-licensed code does not mean I do
not care about the projects where I contribute.

> --
> Dimi.
>
> P.S. You see, I find I'm not that attached to the code I write, but
> rather to the *project* and *community* I contribute to in pursuit of
> a much bigger goal than is humanly achievable. And it's here where I
> violently agree with Alexandre -- this patch trading hurts the very
> community that are the heart and soul of the project. People, code is
> like a rock -- dead! It leaves only as much as the community around
> it. Without it, it rots, and goes to the virtual garbage in no time.
> In the long run, the community spirit is orders of magnitude more
> important than code.
>
> For the record, I initially supported the patch trade idea, but I have been
> persuaded differently by Alexandre's comments. Thank you for helping
> me see the light.

Actually, I was opposed to the patch idea.  I would like to see ReWind
thrive on its own.  It should just fork and not concern itself with
Wine.  Sharing is perfectly acceptable between the forks, but they
should not depend on it.

Sean
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