From: Randy Kramer <rhkramer@...>
Date: 2007-10-15T20:33:58+09:00
Subject: Re: MIT vs. Ruby/GPL License

On Sunday 14 October 2007 11:29 pm, Jon Lambert wrote:
> Jeremy Henty wrote:
> > On 2007-10-15, Jon Lambert  wrote:
> >>
> >> Which one gives the user more freedom, the unconditional or
> >> conditional grant?
> >
> > The GPL gives the *user* *complete* freedom. It restricts *other*
> > activities, such as distributing a derived work, but it imposes no
> > restrictions on simply using the software.
> 
> Using that limited definition of user, one who "simply uses the software", 
> most proprietary licenses also give the user complete freedom.   

Hmm, most proprietary licenses (I can't immediately think of any exceptions) 
do not give the *user* (who might be a programmer, or not) the freedoms to:

   * review (and learn) from the source code
   * modify the program (using the source code) for his own purposes and use
   * pay someone other than the original "manufacturer" to modify the program 
for his own purposes and use

(Phrased as above to stay away from the concepts of then distributing those 
changes to others, which most, I think, would not consider to be (strictly) 
user functions.)

Randy Kramer