Re:ESR banned from OSI over this email
by bb88 on Sunday March 08, 2020 @05:13PM
(#22520657)
I feel the cause is worth fighting for, but this is surely the wrong solution.
This is because:
1. It doesn't prevent subcontracting out. Amazon can merely push the egregious behavior to a spin-off or a contractor who likely will not have as many qualms about it.
2. Easy forking. It's not clear that a PNG clause will help. Given the resources of Russia/Iran/China/Amazon/Microsoft/Google, it's likely the most popular projects could just be forked anyway with a more compliant license.
3. Not everyone in Amazon/Iran/etc. are evil. Only certain people are.
4. Do we really want to encourage "Fuck You" licenses by naming names? It's the scarlet letter of licensing.
This is because:
1. It doesn't prevent subcontracting out. Amazon can merely push the egregious behavior to a spin-off or a contractor who likely will not have as many qualms about it.
2. Easy forking. It's not clear that a PNG clause will help. Given the resources of Russia/Iran/China/Amazon/Microsoft/Google, it's likely the most popular projects could just be forked anyway with a more compliant license.
3. Not everyone in Amazon/Iran/etc. are evil. Only certain people are.
4. Do we really want to encourage "Fuck You" licenses by naming names? It's the scarlet letter of licensing.