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Re:VMWare Taken to Court Over GPL Violation by huhtenberg on Thursday March 05, 2015 @02:06PM (#9153079)
> Being so lax on legal matters for such company shows very low level of their management's professionalism.

Actually, no, it doesn't.

It merely means that the management views GPL violations as a low-probability calculated risk. As in "we know that we can be in compliance, but we won't be wasting any resources on it until it's justified". It has nothing to do with the professionalism.

Re:VMWare Taken to Court Over GPL Violation by kjak on Thursday March 05, 2015 @02:20PM (#9153172)
> As in "we know that we can be in compliance, but we won't be wasting any resources on it until it's justified". It has nothing to do with the professionalism.

It sounds like it has everything to do with professionalism.

Re:VMWare Taken to Court Over GPL Violation by jcoffland on Thursday March 05, 2015 @02:16PM (#9153134)
In a world where lying and cheating when it's convienient is considered professional, you're right.
Re:VMWare Taken to Court Over GPL Violation by angersock on Thursday March 05, 2015 @02:20PM (#9153170)
Welcome to business!
Re:VMWare Taken to Court Over GPL Violation by shmerl on Thursday March 05, 2015 @04:18PM (#9153881)
You mean unethical business.
Re:VMWare Taken to Court Over GPL Violation by angersock on Thursday March 05, 2015 @05:50PM (#9154444)
Ethics don't enter into it--you might be thinking of negative externalities. That's the responsibility of the person running things next fiscal year. In the mean time, quit worrying and go deliver shareholder value.
Re:VMWare Taken to Court Over GPL Violation by shmerl on Thursday March 05, 2015 @11:24PM (#9155579)
> That's the responsibility of the person running things next fiscal year. In the mean time, quit worrying and go deliver shareholder value.

No, that's a weird attitude (i.e. I'll create a mess today, next person will clean it tomorrow). One has to be responsible for the mess, and actually preventing it to begin with. What you described is exactly the lack of professionalism.

Re:VMWare Taken to Court Over GPL Violation by angersock on Friday March 06, 2015 @12:33AM (#9155757)
Re:VMWare Taken to Court Over GPL Violation by shmerl on Friday March 06, 2015 @12:57AM (#9155798)
It's unprofessional for normal companies. Unless you are talking about being a professional crook (and that's not what I'm talking about).
Re:VMWare Taken to Court Over GPL Violation by angersock on Friday March 06, 2015 @11:44AM (#9157963)
Look, "professional" is a lie told by successful people to keep dullards in line. There is the almighty dollar, the pursuit of that dollar, and what you have to do to attain that dollar--if you aren't in this to get paid as much as the market will bear and damn the consequences, you sir are the unprofessional one.

I get what you're saying, and I agree absolutely that it is a morally reprehensible thing to lie, cheat, or take the short-term approach to long-term problems. At the same time, you have to realize that anthropomorphizing companies is wrong. They are entities created to obtain profits, and any other reasoning about them is just going to cause you grief and distress. Accept that the system is made to generate non-corporeal profit-seeking amoral sociopaths, and move the fuck on.

Re:VMWare Taken to Court Over GPL Violation by shmerl on Friday March 06, 2015 @03:28PM (#9159375)
> They are entities created to obtain profits

No. It's a fake logic often used to excuse of kind of crooked behavior. This doesn't fly. Crooks are crooks, whether they are a company or not. Companies have those who drive them. If those people at the head can't control their own companies not to be crooks - too bad for them, they bear the responsibility.

Re:VMWare Taken to Court Over GPL Violation by a1369209993 on Thursday March 05, 2015 @05:04PM (#9154166)
So business.
Re:VMWare Taken to Court Over GPL Violation by aros on Thursday March 05, 2015 @02:23PM (#9153187)
What a bizarre world we live in where willful violations of a legally binding license (a license which attempts to keep knowledge in the open) is considered nothing more than a "calculated risk."
Re:VMWare Taken to Court Over GPL Violation by mgkimsal on Thursday March 05, 2015 @03:00PM (#9153423)
Every time you speed on the freeway, you're willfully violating the law, and taking a calculated risk that you won't get caught. No?
Re:VMWare Taken to Court Over GPL Violation by aros on Friday March 06, 2015 @08:27AM (#9156858)
I don't speed.
Re:VMWare Taken to Court Over GPL Violation by Igglyboo on Thursday March 05, 2015 @10:02PM (#9155353)
I'm sure you've never jaywalked or littered or sped in a car and thought to yourself "there's no way i'll get in trouble for this so i'll do it anyway". Except in VMware's case they are much large than a single person so their list of "low risk" crimes is larger.
Re:VMWare Taken to Court Over GPL Violation by aros on Friday March 06, 2015 @08:28AM (#9156860)
I don't jaywalk, litter, or speed.
Re:VMWare Taken to Court Over GPL Violation by s73v3r on Thursday March 05, 2015 @02:58PM (#9153408)
Actually, that entire statement shows they don't have any professionalism.
Re:VMWare Taken to Court Over GPL Violation by shmerl on Thursday March 05, 2015 @04:14PM (#9153855)
> It merely means that the management views GPL violations as a low-probability calculated risk.

Which shows stupidity of that management, which thinks that legal violations are acceptable as long as they can view them as "low risk". Or it simply means it's a company of crooks. Either one is not a professional environment.