Linked by Thom Holwerda on Tue 16th Jan 2007 14:08 UTC, submitted by RJ
"We observe that there exists a broad misconception that the BSD permits the licensing of BSD code and modifications of BSD code under closed source licenses. In this paper we put forward an argument to the effect that the terms of the BSD require BSD code and modifications to BSD code to be licensed under the terms of the BSD license. We look at some possible consequences and observe that this licensing requirement could have serious impacts on the unwary."
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Member since:
2006-02-15
There's simply no evidence for that whatsoever, and again, it doesn't explain why more code has gone into Linux than any BSD for all kinds of hardware and purposes.
Quantity is not quality. "More code" is not the same as "better system."
It still doesn't explain why more code has flowed into Linux.
It has nothing to do with the respective licenses and everything to do with the nature of the developer communities.
Linux Torvalds is a likeable guy who deliberately put together a system of participation that encouraged less experienced developers to become part of the process and thereby grow into better developers. LKML, Linux janitors, and a bunch of other initiatives have made developing for Linux attractive.
The BSD developers are less egalitarian and more interested in having a tighter focus on what they do.
Neither approach is better or worse than the other, but they lead to very different dynamics and that has nothing to do with the licensing approach.
Had the BSDI suit been settled earlier, Linus would, he says, have forked a BSD distro and gone from there. He'd have lived with the BSD license and BSD development, at least in his variant, would be just as Linux development is now.