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A comment on “I wish I could have licensed the Id source code releases as BSD”. Parent comment

Re:“I wish I could have licensed the Id source code releases... by tgsovlerkhgsel on Tuesday July 06, 2021 @01:08PM (#27751360)
That it is reasonable to prioritize freedoms that are actually exercised to freedoms that are nice in theory but never used.
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Re:“I wish I could have licensed the Id source code releases... by Crespyl on Tuesday July 06, 2021 @02:41PM (#27752623)
I also own a car for which I have almost none of the skills to meaningfully maintain and repair, but frequently exercise my right to contract a third party to do that work for me.

The same is true for software, and I benefit even if I'm not the one paying for the work myself. The modern internet would look very different if KHTML hadn't been a GPL/LGPL project and Apple had been allowed to hold their changes in WebKit as a proprietary secret, and the same for Chrome/Blink. Companies can be users too, and the virality ensures that every user sees the benefits.

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