🚀 go-pugleaf

davidm@consilium.com (David S. Masterson) writes:
 > Which is all well and good for the *user* of the software, but, in the GPL
 > world (depending on how you measure return on investment), the well-developed
 > code gets high use and the *developer* sees no more return from it (although
 > the *distributor* might).  Where's the incentive for future development?

"return" is not necessarily monetary.  One "return" I see is knowledge
that others are finding value or use in something I've produced.
There's also the fact that since others are using that code, they're
seeing my name alongside the software -- another way of making
"unofficial" contacts.

>This question is (attempted to be) solved in two ways in the current world.
>The first is through company proprietary development (aka. nobody but me uses
>this development and I see a return on development based on how useful it is
>to me).  The second is through the copyright mechanism (aka. you can use my
>development only if you help me see a return on that development).

Understand, though, that the "copyright mechanism" is not necessarily
indicating that one must "pay" to "use my development" -- it is also
used many times to just say "this is mine", with an attached note
(license agreement, often) saying what you may or may not do with it.

Note that all of the software coming out of the GNU Project is
copyrighted.

Cheers...

			-jeff

Jeff Kellem
Internet: composer@Beyond.Dreams.ORG