[CLUE-Tech] GPL loopholes

[Dave Hahn]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Art Reisman" <astormchaser2002 at yahoo.com>
To: <clue-tech at clue.denver.co.us>
Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2003 9:06 AM
Subject: Re: [CLUE-Tech] GPL loopholes


> Fanstastic Discussion !
>
> These are the moral delimma's of an open source
> developer who needs to eat. Their Landlord, local
> grocer don't give them free stuff because they
> contribute to open source ? Other than college
> students using open source development as a conduit to
> the work force, somebody pays for the development. (I
> guess even the college students pay through the nose
> to their shools for the right to work for free) I have
> a theory that quite a bit of this stuff comes from
> Europe because of their highly Socialized education
> system?
[snip]

Europe/Socialized Schools - Possible - still paid for in by taxes and tax
payers.  That being said, should those who "paid" for it have the right to
benefit, financially, from that payment.  Or, better question, who
determines that their work should be open sourced for the greater good?
It's really the same discussion here when an employee who, through their
skill and knowledge, has created something, but done while being paid by
their employer.  Who has the right to make the decision to free speech or
free beer or sell the product?  The developer who contributed the knowledge
and skill or the entity that paid for the right to utilize that skill and
knowledge?  The answer is simple when the employer and the employee agree
(reference the previous examples of Linus and Alan), but, what when they
disagree?  Same could apply to the socialized schooling question - should
the university hold sway over the code as the representative of the tax
payers that paid to create the code?  And, if so, are universities a good
choice for organizations to make this decision? (Perspective from those that
contribute financially to them.)

Good discussion, difficult answers, many slippery slopes abound.

-d