From: rms AT gnu DOT ai DOT mit DOT edu (Richard Stallman) Subject: Re: The gnu-win32 AT cygnus DOT com mailing list 17 Feb 1997 21:37:44 -0800 Approved: cygnus DOT gnu-win32 AT cygnus DOT com Distribution: cygnus Message-ID: <199702180430.XAA11614.cygnus.gnu-win32@psilocin.gnu.ai.mit.edu> References: <9702151959 DOT AA5630 AT smtp-notes-gw DOT praxisint DOT com> Reply-To: rms AT gnu DOT ai DOT mit DOT edu Original-To: Bill_Mann AT praxisint DOT com Original-Cc: gnu-win32 Original-cc: rms AT gnu DOT ai DOT mit DOT edu In-reply-to: <9702151959.AA5630@smtp-notes-gw.praxisint.com> (message from Bill Mann/US/Praxis on 15 Feb 97 11: 14:54 EDT) Original-Sender: owner-gnu-win32 AT cygnus DOT com I don't see a problem with the fact that cygwin32 is distributed under the GPL. This is less helpful than it could be to development of proprietary software; however, helping that is not one of the goals of the GNU project. Our goal is to replace proprietary software, not facilitate it. There is no general GNU policy that libraries should never be distributed under the ordinary GPL. I decided to use the Library GPL for GNU libc because using the ordinary GPL would have made it impossible to have proprietary software on a GNU system. If GNU libc were distributed under the GPL, that would discourage use of GNU systems, rather than discouraging development of proprietary software. It could have caused a serious problem for GNU. Windows NT is a different matter. It isn't the GNU system, and it isn't free software. We don't have a reason to be concerned with helping it succeed overall. (It is succeeding well enough, anyway.) The alternate release of cygwin32 under non-free terms is a separate issue from its release under the GPL. This non-free distribution does cause problems for the free software community. It sets the wrong tone, conveys a bad idea. It also undermines some of the aims of the GPL. For example, it means that some end users will get the software without getting the freedom that "free software" stands for. And when the companies that get the non-free licenses make modifications, these are likely not to be released ever as free software. While serious, these problems don't prevent us from using the software. It is better, overall, that cygwin32 exists and is available under the GPL, than if it did not exist. Still, I hope that this example will not be widely imitated. - For help on using this list, send a message to "gnu-win32-request AT cygnus DOT com" with one line of text: "help".