Picking a license

[Ben Finney]

aahz at pythoncraft.com (Aahz) writes:

> Paul Boddie  <paul at boddie.org.uk> wrote:
> >Actually, the copyleft licences don't "force" anyone to "give back
> >changes": they oblige people to pass on changes.
>
> IMO, that's a distinction without a difference, particularly if you
> define "give back" as referring to the community rather than the
> original project. With the FSF itself using "pressure" in the FAQ
> entry you linked to, I have no clue why you and Ben Finney object to
> my use of "force".

Precisely because there *is* force involved: copyright law is enforced,
ultimately, by police with threats to put you in a box forcibly.

But that force, it must be recognised, comes from the force of law. The
GPL, and all free software licenses, do *not* force anyone to do
anything; exactly the opposite is the case.

Free software licenses grant specific exceptions to the enforcement of
copyright law. They grant freedom to do things that would otherwise be
prevented by force or the threat of force.

This is obvious when you consider what would be the case in the absence
of any free software license: everything that was prohibited is still
prohibited in the absence of the license, and indeed some more things
are now prohibited as well.

Conversely, in the absence of any copyright law (not that I advocate
that situation), copyright licenses would have no force in or behind
them.

So I object to muddying the issue by misrepresenting the source of that
force. Whatever force there is in copyright comes from law, not any free
software license.

-- 
 \           “Let others praise ancient times; I am glad I was born in |
  `\                                      these.” —Ovid (43 BCE–18 CE) |
_o__)                                                                  |
Ben Finney