[wp-hackers] WordPress and GPLv3

Pixline supporto at pixline.net
Thu Dec 27 15:35:06 GMT 2007


> Otto wrote:

> Here's the short of it: I don't release my software under GPLv3
> because I WANT people to use my software to create new and innovative
> things. That was the whole point. The software should be free. And it
> is, under the GPLv2. It's less free under the GPLv3, because less
> people are free to use it.


Maybe is a little too early to talk about that? What's wrong with  
GPL2? At least, we can read it without a lawyer, unlike GPL3. I'm not  
pleased to release something under a license that needs a FAQ: the  
license can have legal value, but what about the FAQ?

Another interesting point - at least for me - is about community.
Why WordPress is stuck with php4 and mysql4 "because they're widely  
supported and really tested" but needs to switch its license quite  
early even before a single valid legal test for the GPL3? I think that  
the approach needs to be one and global. If GPL3 is ok, why PHP5  
support is not?

I really can't understand why we have a conservative approach on  
system requirements, but we can afford a enthusiasm-driven licence  
switch. GPL2 is well known and widely accepted, while GPL3 is  
basically just released and not-so-well accepted.


Paolo Tresso
- pixline.net code monkey
---------------------------------------
http://pixline.net - http://amisnet.org
   http://linkedin.com/in/paolotresso






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