• exocortex@discuss.tchncs.de
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    2 days ago

    What is the problem with a BSD-license? I’m not familiar with the different open source licensing models and their problems.

    • Allero@lemmy.today
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      2 days ago

      Basically, it allows you to steal all the code and use it in your closed-source programs, giving a green light for corporations to use open-source code without giving anything back.

      GPL doesn’t allow that, forcing you to open-source anything that was produced using other GPL-licensed code. That’s, for example, why so much of Linux software is open-source - it commonly relies on various dependencies that are GPL-licensed, so there is no other legal option other than sharing the code as well.

    • HouseWolf@lemm.ee
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      1 day ago

      It’s not really an issue for the end user. But it’s basically made for companies to take advantage of free hobbyist developers without needing to give anything back in return.

      So if you’re the kind of person who runs to foss software to get away from corporate tech bull, having a license that benefits companies more than users just kinda feels scummy.

    • ColdWater@lemmy.ca
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      2 days ago

      Apple, Sony, N*****do, Netflix all use BSD but they don’t contribute any code to the BSD project itself, because of the BSD allow other people/company to close source their code when using with BSD

    • phlegmy@sh.itjust.works
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      2 days ago

      It’s not a viral copyleft license, so you’re free to use the source code without giving anything back.

      This has pros and cons over something like GPL, but people like to circlejerk GPL and pretend it’s always the best option 100% of the time.
      For situations where you have to sign an NDA and are unable to release source code (eg; console game dev), MIT and BSD licensed projects are a godsend.

    • ZeroOne@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      Remember the Minix operating system that runs on your processors ? It’s a proprietary spyware now because of BSD licencing