Official RFC: Let freedom ring. https://github.com/geerlingguy/ansible-role-java/pull/138
@geerlingguy I read in your post here https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2023/im-done-red-hat-enterprise-linux that "We're all being told to go sign up for a Red Hat Developer Account so we can snag our 16 licenses [...]"
What is the difference between one license and 16 licenses? One license allows you to download the source code, 16 licenses allows the same thing? I don't understand.
Anyway, the whole concept of "licenses" for software is just bad, it should not be used. They could make their money by selling support contracts instead.
@geerlingguy ok, maybe this comes down to what you mean by the word "freedom" then.
Like, if you think a person is "free" as long as they are not physically restricted, tied with chains or something.
"You are free to do X, but you will then get the punishment Y." That is not really freedom, at least not in my opinion. 🙂
@eliasr That's the wonderful kind of freedom Red Hat's legal team would like to enforce on OSS.
Luckily they don't own OSS, nor Linux!
@eliasr @geerlingguy We've heard many times that the "free" in "free software" is not about price but about freedom.
What isn't said often is that that freedom is not for the users, not even for the developers. It's the software itself that is kept free.
The purpose of the GPL and the whole free software movement of to prevent software from being "captured" by comercial interests.
That's why the GPL restricts the freedom of users, to always let software to "escape" and grow beyond any user.
@eliasr I think someone at Red Hat believes if you give away software, that mitigates the need to allow the sources to be shared freely, without restriction (coerced or not).