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Now that the final version of the GNU General Public Licence version 3 has been released, the in-depth analysis of its implications can begin.Two of the first commentaries to be published have come from the legal world, and there are doubtless many more being prepared for purely internal use within software companies wondering whether to adopt the new licence. But important as both the legal and commercial details are, I believe the true significance of the GPLv3 lies elsewhere.
Hey, RMS has always had a practical streak, something I -- and, let's be honest, lots of others -- tend to forget sometimes. After all, FSF and all that follows grew out of his desire to get a printer working properly.
For all the image of RMS as ideological purist and firebrand, he's been pretty effective at making the necessary compromises and doing everything he could do avoid the unnecessary ones. That's why we have the LGPL. For that matter, the GPL itself is a sort of grand compromise. RMS would prefer a world of no licenses whatsoever, where software would truly be free. But that ain't the world we live in and GPL cleverly uses the law as it is to advance the world as he would like it to be.
Perhaps the long gestation of V3 reflects RMS's understanding that GPLV2 accomplished most of the easy work, that going further also meant getting closer to the limits of what can be done.
> After all, FSF and all that follows grew out of his desire to get a printer working properly.
Actually, that point seems to get lost an awful lot - in many discussions.
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For all the image of RMS as ideological purist and firebrand, he's been pretty effective at making the necessary compromises and doing everything he could do avoid the unnecessary ones. That's why we have the LGPL. For that matter, the GPL itself is a sort of grand compromise. RMS would prefer a world of no licenses whatsoever, where software would truly be free. But that ain't the world we live in and GPL cleverly uses the law as it is to advance the world as he would like it to be.
Perhaps the long gestation of V3 reflects RMS's understanding that GPLV2 accomplished most of the easy work, that going further also meant getting closer to the limits of what can be done.