VanLUG Email Archive
James M. Adams (jmadams@jamesm95.freeserve.co.uk)
Fri, 7 May 1999 17:56:43 +0100
Surely programmers C-Code(or any code) is bound to have some similarities to
that of another programmers code. Especially when you consider how many
people learned to program using K&R, Coronado or Schildt to name but a
few(Though it's difficult to tell the last two apart).
Some are good programmers, some are not, but everyone learns by looking at
other source, experimenting, expanding and developing their own style. So
for someone to imply the Linux/BSD or whatever has stolen code within it is
a bit rich, and I suspect extremely hard to prove.
James
-----Original Message-----
From: Dave Michelson <dmichelson@home.com>
To: vanlug@gweep.bc.ca <vanlug@gweep.bc.ca>
Date: 07 May 1999 17:12
Subject: Re: Linux litigation chill re: Copyright
>
>Hi, all.
>
>VanLUG, CLUE, and Linux International are working quietly behind the
>scenes to quash this latest round of FUD that overzealous SCO sales and
>marketing people have been flinging.
>
>Robert Todd, president of BSDI, says that no such claims (about BSD/OS
>code illegally in Linux) have ever been made, and *certainly* no lawsuit
>has ever been considered, let alone threatened.
>
>Also, check out
>
> http://www.sco.com/linux/letter.html
>
>I've attached an extract below.
>
>--
>Dave Michelson
>dmichelson@home.com
>
>April 30, 1999
>
>To: Linux International board and other interested parties,
>
>I would like to clarify my position regarding Linux and address the
>comments attributed to me in several recent press articles.
>
><snip>
>
>To clarify a few points:
>
>a) I do not believe Linux was created by "punk kids." During interviews,
>when I am asked about Linux, I always clearly state my respect and
>admiration for Linus and the community of developers who participate in
>the open source movement. I believe that the open source community is
>often perceived as an unruly bunch of young hackers, especially by the
>IT establishment, and that this will be a factor in the adoption of
>Linux.
>
>b) Of course, I don't believe that Red Hat is in any way fraudulent.
>But, I do believe that there is a fundamental difference in the value
>proposition to customers between that of Open Source Aggregators, such
>as Red Hat, and that of traditional commercial software companies such
>as SCO. We will continue to educate customers so that they understand
>our view on this difference. And I will continue to try and find the
>right way to communicate this in measured and objective terms but none
>the less forcefully.
>
>c) I also believe in the principle that great programmers should "steal"
>great code whenever possible, so long as they do not violate any laws or
>license agreements. In hindsight, it's clear that "steal" was a poor and
>confusing choice of words on my part. I was perhaps being too flippant
>by trying to point out that one can't really steal that which is freely
>offered.
>
>All in all, I sincerely apologize if anything that I said, or am reputed
>to have said, has offended anyone. I promise to do my best to avoid
>saying anything which could be twisted or misconstrued into sounding
>this stupid....ever again!
>
> Doug Michels
>
> President and CEO, SCO
>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b3 on Fri 07 May 1999 - 09:53:46 PDT