Re:Software licensing and my opposition to copyleft
by burntsushi on Friday October 30, 2020 @03:55AM
(#24940041)
Well, as I pointed out, my goal is for as many people to use my software as possible. The choice of license impacts this goal.
One could also make hand wavy arguments about more use leading to better software. That's certainly the case for much of my code. If fewer people used it, it might not have improved as much as it has. (Obviously "more use" is not the only path to better software! And it does not guarantee improvements either.)
I can say that without a doubt, if I had released, for example, ripgrep under the AGPLv3, far fewer people would be using it today.
One could also make hand wavy arguments about more use leading to better software. That's certainly the case for much of my code. If fewer people used it, it might not have improved as much as it has. (Obviously "more use" is not the only path to better software! And it does not guarantee improvements either.)
I can say that without a doubt, if I had released, for example, ripgrep under the AGPLv3, far fewer people would be using it today.