[rescue] Re: Being jobless

[Francisco Javier Mesa-Martinez]

On Wed, 30 Jul 2003, Charles Shannon Hendrix wrote:

> On Wed, Jul 30, 2003 at 09:26:46AM -0700, Francisco Javier Mesa-Martinez wrote:
>
> > > You are assuming nothing else would have come up.  This is a classic,
> > > and incorrect argument.
> >
> > Acutally, not to be nitpicky but yours is the wrong argument: when making
> > assumptions about what never happened and arguing with them against what
> > actually did happen: what actually did happen wins :). Heh, one should
>
> No, you are second-guessing history.

Really? stating historical facts == second-guessing history. What gives?

Reality: GPL -> GNU tool set.

Nobody has forced people to use GPL if they desired to release a GNU like
environment of programming tools (by like I mean in functionality). Thus
far in 20 or so odd years I can see a loooooong list of GNU like tool
environments for free, right? So I why am I second guessing anything?


So GNU tools are out there, and so is GPL. Other people could have used
the BSD like licenses if so desired, GPL is not forcing writers of free
software to release their code under that specific license (unless they
include GPLed code) if it is written from scratch. So again I just do not
see the same as whay I can get from GNU, so maybe... just maybe the GPL
had a tiny bitty itty thing to do with its success (or actual survival).


> This is no different than saying that if Ford had dropped out of LeMans
> in the late 60s, no one would have beaten Porsche.  If the GT-40 were
> not out there, Ferrari might have put more resources into its effort and
> performed better.
>
> The GT-40 and it taking the top spots place is what happened, but its
> wrong to assume that is the only thing which could have happened.

Huh... apples oranges... again, nobody is forcing the GPL on authors. So
far there are little development tools released under different licenses,
thus maybe just maybe there is a reason for that? :) Unlike a race the
hypothesis you were proposing was not mutually exclusive, i.e. in a race
there can be only 1 winner, therefore it has nothing to do with this
discussion.


> > > Linux would likely have adopted the BSD toolset, for example.
> >
> > Using which compiler? :)
>
> One that would have filled the void gcc didn't fill.

A non existent compiler for an imaginary toolset :) That is a mighty big
void to fill....