A rant about software licenses

Software licenses are like religious food denominations: kosher, halal, organic, etc.

The fact that a mushroom salad is certified kosher by a rabbi gives no information about the mushroom salad itself, only about what certain humans can or can not do with that salad. I do not belong to this set of humans. I will eat or not eat this salad according only to whether I find it tasty or not. Likewise, the fact that a written program is accompained by a license or by another adds no information about the program itself, only about what certain humans can or can not do with that program. I do not belong either to this set of humans. Software licenses, like religious food denominations, are meaningless stamps attached to otherwise regular stuff.

Yet, some people take these issues very seriously so it is necessary to respect them. Thus, it is wrong to deceive people and feed them stuff that they are not allowed to eat. Similarly, when somebody puts a license on a program and I want to use that program, the license must be obeyed strictly and without complain, no matter how ridiculous its terms are. This is very important: respecting the beliefs of others is a prerequisite for civilization.

On the other hand, I am not offended if other people follow religious food laws but I would be offended if I was forced to follow them. Likewise, I am not offended by software licenses, but I would be offended if I was forced to use them.

If I ever become an apple producer I will sell my product without any religious denomination. This is my choice and I am free to make it. I do not care if some people are not able to eat my apples as a result of this decision. In my opinion, they are wrong because they follow ridiculous religious laws. Likewise, I want to distribute my programs without a license attached (not even the WTFPL). This is my choice and I am free to make it. If some people can not use my programs because they need to follow some ridiculous “intellectual property” law, this is their problem. But I am not willing to help this people by adding a meaningless stamp to my stuff.

In the rare cases when I am forced to choose a sofware license, I thirst for revenge, so I select the license that offends the largest quantity of believers. Curiously enough, this license seems to be the AGPL, and not the WTFPL. Thus, I happily endorse the AGPL, just like I love to eat couscous with lardons and béchamel, which turns out to be delicious! (bonus points if the couscous comes from GMO wheat).