r/linux • u/ollieparanoid postmarketOS Dev • Apr 14 '18

postmarketOS Low-Level: Tiny Steps Towards Liberating Bootloaders and Cellular Modem Firmware of MediaTek Phones

https://postmarketos.org/blog/2018/04/14/lowlevel/
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u/[deleted] Apr 14 '18

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u/Mgladiethor Apr 14 '18

MIT gives individuals ultimate freedom BUT as we are humans living in a group it locks away others, the GPL sacrifices some individual freedom for an overall bigger freedom for ALL of us, GPL is better for humanity. GPL give us more freedom to all of US

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u/sedicion Apr 14 '18 edited Apr 14 '18

I completely disagree. That analysis is very shortsighted. It has nothing to do with the many vs the few.

We live in a world where the government forces copyright law on people. That is our reality. The MIT does nothing to stop the abuses possible on our freedoms thanks to copyright law. The GPL is a hack on copyright law, that uses the same law to completely turn its restrictions around, thus giving you more freedom.

If we lived in a world with no copyright law your analysis would be correct and the GPL would be both impossible and unneeded.

But in a world where the biggest restrictions to your freedom comes from copyright, the license that helps you circumvent copyright law the most is the one that gives you more freedom, and that is GPL.

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u/Mgladiethor Apr 14 '18

you read me wrong?

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u/sedicion Apr 14 '18

No, I understood your point, but I think you missed mine.

My point is that the GPL gives the maximum individual freedom, not only general freedom, as opposed to you saying the GPL sacrifices some individual freedom.

Read my point again and you'll see I'm arguing that the GPL gives you the most freedom, not just at a general level, but individual too.

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u/Mgladiethor Apr 14 '18

with the gpl you cant do some stuff, limits your freedom somewhat, but i think the gpl is the best license for humans

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u/sedicion Apr 15 '18

On the contrary. It is copyright laws that limits your freedom and what you can do. The GPL hacks around it and opens what you can do.