Take this test and find your preferred license. A few simple questions can reveal your stance. Fun for the whole family!
1. Do you maintain that information (code) should always be free, no matter how expensive or difficult that information was to come up with, no matter how limited applicability it may have, and no matter how damaging freeing that information might be for the industry, both good and bad?
a) yes b) no c) maybe
points: a = 2, b = 0, c = 1
2. How should people that come up with such information (coders) be rewarded for their efforts?
a) tangible goods (money) b) name recognition in the liberation army (free software enthusiasts) c) name recognition in the rest of the world d) feeling good about themselves (no reward at all) e) I really don't care about them, I just want the code
points: a = 0, b = 2, c = 0, d = 1, e = 2
3. Would you like it if your work was incorporated into cheap, mass-produced, proprietary, commercial consumer devices, like cell phones, game consoles, microwave ovens, or home-grown nuclear power plants?
a) yes b) no c) I don't care
points: a = 0, b = 2, c = 1
4. Do you care about users?
a) yes, I would like to have many users, and listen to their needs b) no, I'm the developer, I do the work, it's my way or the highway c) mostly, but not at all costs, I don't mind losing a few
points: a = 0, b = 2, c = 1
Results:
0-1: I feel the X11 (BSD) license makes the world a better place
2-3: While not perfect, I think the X11 (BSD) license does give users a fair choice and encourage wide use
4-6: I am somewhat suspicious of my users, so I think the LGPL license makes it easier to herd them
7-8: Freedom above all; I elect RMS for president, and prefer the GPL
Ove Kaaven wrote:
4-6: I am somewhat suspicious of my users, so I think the LGPL license makes it easier to herd them
How about 4-6: I am somewhat suspicious of my competitors, so I think the LGPL license will allow me to release my changes without worrying so much that one of my competitors will use them to leapfrog me.
- Dan
On Mon, 11 Feb 2002, Dan Kegel wrote:
Ove Kaaven wrote:
4-6: I am somewhat suspicious of my users, so I think the LGPL license makes it easier to herd them
How about 4-6: I am somewhat suspicious of my competitors, so I think the LGPL license will allow me to release my changes without worrying so much that one of my competitors will use them to leapfrog me.
No. Unless you work at a Wine-based company like CodeWeavers or something like that, but just contribute to Wine because you want to, you don't have competitors, just users that may want your work, even if those users are companies. (And even if you do work at a Wine-based company, then your competitors *still* become your users if they use your work.) So I think my description is more accurate for the majority of Wine developers. Besides, I just wanted to provoke some thought and reflection without the dull seriousness of a rant. While I do have a license preference (which I tried to not let bias me when I wrote that message), I won't argue for it now. Once people stop thinking in black and white and reflect over the various problems of the matter, they should be able to come to their own conclusions, which may or may not match mine.
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Dan Kegel -
Ove Kaaven