Banning GPL articles
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Shog9 wrote:
Are you honestly saying you're ok with testing/critiquing/patching a piece of software, expecting that other users will benefit from your contributions as you benefit from theirs, only to find the improvements rolled over into a future, off-site, closed release?
I didn't say I was okay with it. I just said that I didn't like GPL as an open source license because of its virus like nature. It makes unreasonable demands in my opinion.
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Colin Angus Mackay wrote:
It makes unreasonable demands in my opinion.
Heh, well, you have your opinion and i have mine and i suppose we both have different things we'd consider unreasonable for a given time and place. Personally, i'm far more against licenses that prevent you from using them in commercial software outright, or prevent you from releasing any modifications under any conditions. If CP bans GPL along with these, then so be it...
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...the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more...
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How would you all feel if we banned GPL licenced code on The Code Project? 1 = bad idea, 5 = good idea
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
I've read this thread from the start and Colin & Shog9 seem to have a better understanding of what the GPL license means. I'm no expert, but its my understanding that GPL license is considered viral in nature because it requires all other software that incorporates whatever had been licensed as GPL to be GPL as well. I can understand having something with a much more permissive license like the FreeBSD license or the MIT license be used on CP. Shog9 pointed out that some projects started off here but then moved on to other pastures. Personally, I'll sit the fence on this one. If CP is to evolve into something like a breeding ground of continuously improved projects spawned out of some great article(s) then a more restrictive license IMO seems crucial, simply to maintain the openness of the code. On the other hand, GPL can be a real pita. Have you considered a CP license? I vote 4
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How would you all feel if we banned GPL licenced code on The Code Project? 1 = bad idea, 5 = good idea
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
Ban them, and then form a posse to hunt down Richard Stalman, tie him up with Christmas lights and spank him until he admits he's wrong.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
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How would you all feel if we banned GPL licenced code on The Code Project? 1 = bad idea, 5 = good idea
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
Every article should be forced to specify a license - if the article does not specify a license and the author cannot be contacted anymore, then no one has the right to use that code. The employer of the author can later decide to start suing people who are using the article's code. I think this is a much more serious problem than GPL code (which at least clearly says that you can use it only under specific conditions).
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How would you all feel if we banned GPL licenced code on The Code Project? 1 = bad idea, 5 = good idea
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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How would you all feel if we banned GPL licenced code on The Code Project? 1 = bad idea, 5 = good idea
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
Are we a code sharing site or are we a license preference site? Knowing you and your very hands off approach to things I'm shocked to see you asking this. I'd say to leave things as they are and let the issue moderate itself which is what you do on a lot of things and what seems to work. Do I like the GPL? No. Do I agree with the yam-heads who think GPL has a purpose? No, not at all. It's either free or it isn't. Should CP make that decision? No. The guy on the end who is using the code has to make that decision. If he doesn't like the GPL stigma he can always write the author and take his chances. But to broad brush remove it. Nope. No way.
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I'd love it if everything had a public domain license on it with a standard disclaimer. i.e. do what you like with it but if anything goes wrong it's nothing to do with us.
Yeah Buddy, BSD all the way! Edit: this post actually belongs under originSH's post above.. That CP bug X|
Rocky <>< Blog Post: Updating VS 2008 B2 Websites to RTM Tech Blog Post: Cheap Biofuels and Synthetics coming soon?
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As a compromise, should one be desirable, you might make the liscense a category for the posts, allowing people to search for code by license type. This would allow people to filter out GPL should they so desire, while keeping the articles available should others want to view them for tutorial purposes (or be willing to adhere to the terms of the GPL).
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Well, as long as the filter was something you could set on your member profile so that you never have to see article listings on the site or receive them in the newsletter. I do not want to have to set a filter every day I wish to search for an article.
Rocky <>< Blog Post: Updating VS 2008 B2 Websites to RTM Tech Blog Post: Cheap Biofuels and Synthetics coming soon?
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I can already see the Slashdot headline:
Top Windows Developer Site Bans GPL Code Rumors have it that site owner is sleeping with Bill Gates. Also, he is the spawn of Satan. Bribery suspected. Stallman and Moglen planning legal action.
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:laugh: Edit: Again, this post should be under the Judah Himango post above about slashdot.. Come on, this CP bug is getting bad, two posts in a row..
Rocky <>< Blog Post: Updating VS 2008 B2 Websites to RTM Tech Blog Post: Cheap Biofuels and Synthetics coming soon?
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Are we a code sharing site or are we a license preference site? Knowing you and your very hands off approach to things I'm shocked to see you asking this. I'd say to leave things as they are and let the issue moderate itself which is what you do on a lot of things and what seems to work. Do I like the GPL? No. Do I agree with the yam-heads who think GPL has a purpose? No, not at all. It's either free or it isn't. Should CP make that decision? No. The guy on the end who is using the code has to make that decision. If he doesn't like the GPL stigma he can always write the author and take his chances. But to broad brush remove it. Nope. No way.
code-frog wrote:
I'm shocked to see you asking this
Really? You shouldn't be. I don't run this community as a dictatorship. I like to ask for opinions. And that's all I'm doin' ;) (OK, maybe I like to stir up the hornet's nest every so often too ;))
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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How would you all feel if we banned GPL licenced code on The Code Project? 1 = bad idea, 5 = good idea
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
But, why should be banned? And why anyone is using those licences?
Jwalant Natvarlal Soneji
BE IT, India -
code-frog wrote:
I'm shocked to see you asking this
Really? You shouldn't be. I don't run this community as a dictatorship. I like to ask for opinions. And that's all I'm doin' ;) (OK, maybe I like to stir up the hornet's nest every so often too ;))
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
Sometimes I wish you could see my fat little face in my replies. The shot of it grinning away with a little bit of mirth in my replies. What I'm really wondering is what prompted the question from you to begin with?:badger:
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That would prevent articles detailing how to use GPL'd code. I believe the lame encoder is GPL'd and it is definitely deservant of articles. A less restrictive community is always better than a more restrictive community, imho.
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Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know. -- Ernest HemingwayWe'll be banning IMHO next so be careful!:-D
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:shrug: ok then. I think you'll agree, it's not really useful to pick a license based on the needs of people who will ignore any license anyway.
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...the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more...
++ I tend to like GPL, or Creative Commons or whatever, and I see a great deal of ugly feedback coming if a ban is made. Unless it is made very clear that all code submitted to code project is to be used in any possible way. Banning a single license seems strange.
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How would you all feel if we banned GPL licenced code on The Code Project? 1 = bad idea, 5 = good idea
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
5. Rhetorical political actions like these are a necessary evil sometimes. GPL doesn't fit CP's ideals. It would be a nice controversial PR stunt in showing that GPL != open source or "Free" software. It'll probably get Slashdotted, and they'll come up with some awesome conspiracy theory about how Microsoft forced CP to do it. Which will lead some more level-headed people (the people that matter) to conclude that Slashdot's being stupid and that GPL is in fact not necessarily the cure to cancer. By the way, my project (MiniHttpd[^]) is also on SourceForge under LGPL. The version on here is outdated, but it's licensed under CC. What would happen in this case if it were GPL instead of LGPL?
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Every article should be forced to specify a license - if the article does not specify a license and the author cannot be contacted anymore, then no one has the right to use that code. The employer of the author can later decide to start suing people who are using the article's code. I think this is a much more serious problem than GPL code (which at least clearly says that you can use it only under specific conditions).
If no license is specified I think it's safe to default to the "found it on the Internet" license and let the applicable regional laws do their thing.
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That would prevent articles detailing how to use GPL'd code. I believe the lame encoder is GPL'd and it is definitely deservant of articles. A less restrictive community is always better than a more restrictive community, imho.
Need a C# Consultant? I'm available.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know. -- Ernest HemingwayRestricting restrictively unrestrictive licenses might encourage a less restrictive community.
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I would say we shouldn't host any GPL code at CodeProject, since it is clearly not compatible with the spirit of this community. However, if there is an article with a link to GPL code hosted i.e. at SourceForge, I say let's allow it. Many articles are useful without the code.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what Chris means. At least I hope so.
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++ I tend to like GPL, or Creative Commons or whatever, and I see a great deal of ugly feedback coming if a ban is made. Unless it is made very clear that all code submitted to code project is to be used in any possible way. Banning a single license seems strange.
I think the ugly feedback will be counterbalanced by long-term overall realization that GPL isn't an all-embracing or all-embraced silver bullet. It'll get people thinking "maybe GPL wasn't made by God".
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How would you all feel if we banned GPL licenced code on The Code Project? 1 = bad idea, 5 = good idea
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
