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this post was submitted on 16 Sep 2025
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Linux
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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You're arguing with a strawman you created, no one made any statements about the author. They simply said no one should use the software.
The author can choose to use the MIT license, and we can choose not to use their software.
What do you think we're saying here? We're saying we're choosing not to use the author's software, what are you taking issue with exactly?
And we've articulated valid reasons not to replace GPL core libraries with MIT ones...
Good for you? This isn't about you (the author)... It's about us not wanting to use your work, which you seem to take offense to, as if you did us a favor. Talk about entitlement.
Solid justification for using it for coreutils you got there...
The original comment called it stealing. There's nothing morally wrong with stealing, but regardless it's not even stealing. It's a stupid argument.
I'm obviously talking about not giving a shit about how people use it. Which makes sense for coreutils. Loads of people use it for loads of different purposes. The author shouldn't care how people use it.
We're obviously talking about corporations intentionally using open source software with the intention of eliminating it as competition, we aren't talking about the literal definition of the word "stealing", which you seem smart enough to be able to recognize, but you're insisting on being pedantic.
You twisted that into an argument about what the author of the code has the right to do... No one gives a shit, and we aren't obligated to support it.
That's not what corporations do when they use MIT/BSD code. They rely on that code; it's not their "competition". Unless you are talking about stuff like WhatsApp using libsignal, where they do use code from a direct competitor, but that's far less common, and also not going to have a negative effect on Signal. I can't speak for Signal of course but they are probably quite happy with WhatsApp using libsignal, as it both spreads Signal's beliefs about communication being E2EE, and it makes WhatsApp reliant upon Signal. FOSS projects like ffmpeg, curl, etc, are (reasonably!) happy that the entire industry depends on the tool they wrote. And they are kept alive because they are so widely depended upon. Corporations donate to FOSS projects because they need them.
wtf is a non-literal definition of "stealing"? The idea of stealing is stupid enough already, I can't play your games to figure out how you extrapolate something sillier from it. I'm a communist. I don't believe in private property and I don't give a shit about stealing.
They steal labor. You would think someone with the username communism would instinctively understand that.
And no, it isn't "far less common", and you have already been provided with examples of what we mean, so I'm not playing your games of providing examples (that don't even use the MIT license, but now I'm the one being pedantic).