Free Software Licenses: Why I Like the BSD

colinfdrake.com

5 pointscfdrake2 comments

I'm curious what HN users prefer when it comes to licensing. Is there a difference between what a startup vs. a larger business should license a library under? How much does the type of license play a part in whether or not you'll clone that repo off of github (assuming you see a BSD vs. GPL, etc)? Is freedom of the code or the user more important?

For the record, I'll state that I do not run a startup, nor have I influence in any larger business, so my comments should be read with that in mind. However, the company I work for, does release open source software, and it's licensed under the GPL (or a mixture of GPL and LGPL). If I ran a business, I'd do the same.

The reason for that, is the viral nature of the GPL: it's not friendly towards closed source, which is exactly what I want. If I, as a business, release a piece of code, then I want to benefit from any enhancements others make to it, I want to have the option, to take those modifications, and incorporate them into my version. With the BSD license, I'd be at the mercy of others, they may opt to contribute their changes back, or they may choose not to.

I don't trust most businesses, so I do not want to let them have that option: if they use my open source code, I want to have their modifications too, so we can mutually benefit.

Thus, for me, freedom of the code is more important.

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