[biot]

Since everyone loves tortured analogies, MIT/BSD is like handing out free pencil sharpeners. "Enjoy! Just don't misrepresent where you got it from." GPL is like handing out free pencil sharpeners but requiring that everyone share everything they write using any pencil that was sharpened with it.

[makecheck]

The GPL doesn't restrict the products of tools.

I think a GPL-like extension of a pencil sharpener would be the following. You develop a new pencil sharpener that copies 90% of the original design but includes a sharper blade that makes nicer pencil tips; when you release that product, you must show everyone how your pencil sharpener is designed and definitely must not prevent anyone from seeing how the original (that you started with) was designed.

[nextparadigms]

I don't think that's a very good analogy. It's more like sharing back everything you did to enhance the free pencil sharpener, so the whole project evolves even faster with everyone's enhancements.

I think both GPL and MIT have their place in the open source world. If you want to build something long-term and you want everyone to contribute, then use GPL. If you just care about jumpstarting a solution to a problem, and if you're satisfied if they only use your basic solution at the very least, then use MIT.

[ktosiek]

You are talking about AGPL here - this is the only GPL version that makes you open almost everything that handled whatever AGPL program produced. I know of one project with that license, and it stopped me from using it (I couldn't relicense the application it would be used for, and personally I see it as a step too far... I think it should have some restrictions as to what it affects, so i would have to open my changes to the AGPLd part but not much more)

[dlitz]

But this is about the LGPL, not the GPL...