[Fsfe-uk] Re: GNU Business Network Definition

[Dave]

On 09/06/06, Chris Croughton <address@hidden> wrote:
> On Fri, Jun 09, 2006 at 08:40:01PM +0100, Dave wrote:
>
> > On 09/06/06, Shane M. Coughlan <address@hidden> wrote:
> >
> > > Exclusivity of use and support should perhaps be secondary.
> >
> > I basically agree, but instead of it being secondary it should be of
> > primary status, with non-exclusive members allowed but given overtly
> > secondary status.
>
> I disagree, making it a secondary status will still put off businesses
> who may have most of their work in Free Software but have obligations to
> support old proprietary software or for that matter may be transitioning
> to Free Software

Or it might persuade the former to finally upgrade those clients away
from old software, and persuade the latter to complete their
transition.

> Fanaticism shoots itself in the foot,
> it puts off more people than it encourages (I've seen this with the GPL,
> with companies putting a blanket ban on any GPL source being used
> anywhere in case it infects things which they are contractually required
> to heep secret, where they can quite happily use BSD and other free
> licenced code because it doesn't insist that their stuff also be made
> free).

Those companies are confused: http://www.rosenlaw.com/html/GPL.PDF etc

That GPL is used for at least 70% of Free code suggests it does not
put off more people than it encourages.

--
Regards,
Dave