Conversion to Linux

[Jeffrey Watts]

Actually that's not why they do that.

The source would get out regardless of what they do, as any customer who
purchased a copy of RHEL would be legally able to release the SRPMs.  The
GPL requires that customers receive a copy of the source.  They make their
SRPMs publicly available because they want to be transparent and because
they want their changes and improvements to Open Source programs to be fed
back into the projects that originated them.  They want to make it easy for
their customers to customize their software for their needs.

They certainly didn't publicly release them in order to encourage someone to
take their work, rebrand it, and undercut their core business.  That's
silly.

Jeffrey.

On Mon, Nov 3, 2008 at 11:24 AM, Billy Crook <billycrook at gmail.com> wrote:

> I think the very fact that RedHat voluntarily, and outside of any
> obligation of the GPL, makes their sources publicly available to
> everyone, demonstrates that they tangibly encourage, or are at least
> complicit with the existence of CentOS.
>
> --

"He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from
oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that
will reach to himself." -- Thomas Paine
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