Clarification on my call for license change

[Francois Gouget]

On Fri, 15 Feb 2002, Daniel Walker wrote:
[...]
> 	Wine is a _re_implementation .. 90% of the code we write is double
> work, triple work sometimes .. It doesn't bother me that we had to
> rewrite something, since after all that is what we do.. Wouldn't we have
> it easy is Microsoft would just release their source? The real question
> is, if Wine was GPL'd would TransGaming have written the DCOM code in
> the first place?

   No, the real question is whether Transgaming would have written the
DCOM code if CodeWeavers had not released its typelib code in the first
place.

   Because it seems to me that one of the main arguments of the BSD
proponents is that we are stupid and that we should have kept all the
code for ourselves. Maybe they are right. But which of the following two
scenarios leads to the more healthy Wine and Wine marketplace?

 * The one where we released our window-management code, did dll
separation work, added cross-process handle support, added cross-process
messaging, released our typelib code (essential for InstallShield/COM
support), released our true-type support, improved winelib and released
countless bug fixes.

 * Or the one where the public Wine has none of the above (unless new
volunters had magically sprung up out of thin air).

   Where would the first scenario, which appears to be what BSD
proponents advocate, leave the Wine community? Which one do Transgaming
and Lindows prefer? Do they really prefer not to benefit from any of our
code in the future?

   The Wine competitive landscape has changed a lot in the past year,
and I believe that it is unpractical for us to continue releasing all
our code under the current license.
   We could definitely turn our Wine proprietary but as the above
scenario illustrates this would be bad for the Wine community, including
for our competitors; even if they don't realise it. And I believe that
all Wine companies need a thriving open-source Wine.
   That's why I think it is important for us (Wine community +
CodeWeavers + Transgaming + Lindows) to find a better solution.



(disclaimer: yes, I am a CodeWeavers employee even if it is not obvious
from my email address, no, this may not represent my employer's opinion,
etc, etc. again, see my email address)


--
Francois Gouget         fgouget at free.fr        http://fgouget.free.fr/
           Cahn's Axiom: When all else fails, read the instructions.