[Dnsmasq-discuss] GPL v3

[Paul Chambers]

(putting on my professional hat for a minute)

If you value the inclusion of dnsmasq in commercial products, as part of 
'prising them open', then don't force GPL v3 as the only choice. The v3 
license is seen as a step too far by many in the industry, upsetting the 
equilibrium between community and commercial use. In my personal 
opinion, if the v3 license comes into widespread use, it'll do great 
harm to the growth of Linux usage in embedded devices. In my 
professional life, we've has already forbidden GPL v3 code in our 
product codebase, and we're requiring the same of our vendors.

I just think that GPL v3 actually *lessens* the impact that open source 
can have outside the desktop PC world, and that makes me sad. I want to 
drive more open source into products, but this makes it harder to do so. 
If 'anti-TiVoization' clauses mean TiVo and others are forced to go with 
non-open source solutions (or inferior ones with more commerce-friendly 
licenses), seems like everyone loses.

I'm sure I'll draw fire for this, it's a very emotional subject for many.

Paul