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The GPL has ultimately done more harm than good for open source

That's the point. The GPL is for free software.

Scared of what codebase? I'm more scared of proprietary software than anything because who knows wtf it's doing.

Proprietary doesn't mean secret. There are codebases that are made available to customers for inspection, under NDAs and with all copyrights "reserved" by the owner. Looking at code is not the primary benefit of open or free software.

I always urge developers to stay clear from those NDAs and codebases - they may taint your work forever.

Mind you, usually, the folks who offer to show you the code under NDAs are not nice guys.

Can the customer compile the source?

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