> So commercial software shops tend to build on MIT, BSD or Apache licensed stuff.
That's just not true in this generality. If you do custom commercial software for a customer's own use, using GPL code can work perfectly fine. The customer pays for the development work and gets the code under GPL. The customer in such cases often will get the source anyway, and it really doesn't matter whether it's GPL or proprietary.
> Consequently, I think that the elephant in the room is that, typically, when people complain that there's something akin to a moral obligation to use GPL, what it's really about is fears that someone might make more money than they think is seemly by shipping closed-source software that relies on open-source components.
As for myself, that is just not correct, and I don't really think it's a common sentiment. I care about my own and others' freedom to control their own computers and data. If you use my GPL code to make money, good for you.
> That statement tacitly denies the existence of freelance software developers, by implying that all programmers are working for another company for some sort of salary or wage, and don't ever individually own code themselves. Which isn't quite true, and subtly frames things in a way that strips developers of their moral agency.
Well, yeah, it's not quite true, but largely, it is, including for freelance developers. If you work on a customer's proprietary software project as a consultant or whatever, you normally don't get to keep the copyright either. You get paid whatever price was agreed upon and the customer gets to own the code.
Yes, if you do independent software development and you only licence your proprietary software to your customers, then the above does not apply to you.
That's just not true in this generality. If you do custom commercial software for a customer's own use, using GPL code can work perfectly fine. The customer pays for the development work and gets the code under GPL. The customer in such cases often will get the source anyway, and it really doesn't matter whether it's GPL or proprietary.
> Consequently, I think that the elephant in the room is that, typically, when people complain that there's something akin to a moral obligation to use GPL, what it's really about is fears that someone might make more money than they think is seemly by shipping closed-source software that relies on open-source components.
As for myself, that is just not correct, and I don't really think it's a common sentiment. I care about my own and others' freedom to control their own computers and data. If you use my GPL code to make money, good for you.
> That statement tacitly denies the existence of freelance software developers, by implying that all programmers are working for another company for some sort of salary or wage, and don't ever individually own code themselves. Which isn't quite true, and subtly frames things in a way that strips developers of their moral agency.
Well, yeah, it's not quite true, but largely, it is, including for freelance developers. If you work on a customer's proprietary software project as a consultant or whatever, you normally don't get to keep the copyright either. You get paid whatever price was agreed upon and the customer gets to own the code.
Yes, if you do independent software development and you only licence your proprietary software to your customers, then the above does not apply to you.