"spir" <denis.s...@gmail.com> wrote in message news:mailman.3421.1302596976.4748.digitalmar...@puremagic.com... > > This is complete misinterpretation. *All* free software can be sold. >
Technically, yes. Realistically, no. If there's software that's free-as-in-freedom, then it's inevitably free-as-in-beer as well. If it's free-as-in-beer, then who the hell is going to buy it, and what the heck for? That said, there is at least *one* thing I like about GPL: From what (incredibly little) I understand of it, it seems that it's actually realistic to have a dual-license between GPL and commercial/proprietary. I've seen software out there that allows the user to choose between getting it under GPL for free, or getting it non-GPL for a fee. I can see how that can work out (depending, of course, on the incomprehensible details of the GPL). But if you changed it from "GPL or commercial" to, say, "BSD or commercial", then the "commercial" choice would seem to loose all its value. You'd have to charge for something else, like support or merchandice or something. Actually, because of that, I could likely be enticed by an (L)GPL-like license if it was actually readable like zlib, BSD, or MIT, and easier for users/developers to comply with.