[Linux-aus] Interesting spin

[Leon Brooks]

On Sat, 29 Nov 2003 05:31, Con Zymaris wrote:
>> "Copyright-style open-source licenses such as the BSD license are
>> best for research purposes because they provide the most options for
>> licensing derivative programs, said Todd Needham, manager of
>> Microsoft Corp.s research programs group. "

Translation:

    "Please use something we can effectively steal and incorporate
    with nothing worse than a copyright acknowledgement. Please don't
    use anything with real copyright conditions on it that we might
    be unable to co-opt into the services of the Holy Redmond Empire.

    Anything that we can't co-opt is The Enemy, and if it's our enemy
    we can probably paint it to be the enemy of truth, freedom,
    justice, free trade, free enterprise, the great American Way Of
    Life, business and development in general, plus your mother and
    her apple pies. Not to mention any opportunities we get to lable
    them 'pinko Commie terrorist sympathisers'."

> Obviously, the GPL isn't a 'Copyright-style open-source license'
> then... ;-)

That's Emperor Billemaigne semi-subtly trash-talking the GPL. If he can 
convince his audience that we're "teen cracker thieves with no respect 
for copyright", he'll retain his grasp of the admittedly large PHB 
market for some time to come.

I usually answer that by calling a spade a spade as follows:

    The GPL depends on copyright completely and utterly. No
    copyright, no GPL. Bill has called himself the smartest man
    in the world on several occasions, so he should have no
    problem understanding this. Either he lied then, or he and
    his minions<*> are lying now. It's worth a lot of money to
    him to be lying now, so guess which answer I favour? <grin>

I always include that last sentence when I can, since the conversant is 
then facing a have-you-stopped-beating-your-wife-yet question; they are 
not being asked whether or not they agree with me, they are being told 
to accept that I'm right and make a choice based on that. Overtly, they 
are only trying to guess what I think, covertly they're being asked to 
think with my mindset. This is fighting fire with fire, but it seems to 
be effective.

Cheers; Leon

* great word, that: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=minion

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