Re: Using GPL for LibGTop with an exception for the GNOME Project

[Gleef <dzol virtual-yellow com>]

On 21 Feb 1999, Martin Baulig wrote:
> Michael Fulbright <msf@redhat.com> writes:
[snip]
> > We at Red Hat at least have tried to avoid shipping GPL libraries if
> > at all possible, because we do not like to discriminat against users
> > of any kind. The GPL discriminates against a certain class of users,
> > which is why we use the LGPL.
> 
> I really have no problems with RedHat, no problems with SuSE and no
> problems with other Linux distributions: especially RedHat has done
> very much for the free software community like paying programmers or
> giving us machines for the Gnome Project so I really do not have any
> objections against allowing RedHat to use libgtop in any commercial
> app they want.
>
> But his is not the same for all commercial companies, there might be
> some commercial programmers wanting to use it in a commercial app that
> has nothing to do with Gnome at all and this company may even decide
> to piss on free software and just use it because its "week" licenses
> permits it. In opposite to gtk+/gnome users of this app won't have
> any benefit from libgtop, so using the GPL would give me any all other
> people that contribute to it, write ports to different systems, ... the
> possiblity to defend our good work from this abuse and to "keep
> free software free".

We are treading close to confusion here.  The LGPL and GPL say nothing
about whether a program is commercial or non-commercial, nor should they.
There are many good commercial applications released under the GPL or
LGPL, such as RPM, CygWin, CVS, VNC, and so on.  The GPL was designed to
fight against proprietary software, not commercial software.

While I am sure you are clear on this point, I have seen many people get
confused on this issue, particularly when terms aren't used carefully.

-Gleef