[Gllug] ipv6

[itsbruce at uklinux.net]

On Fri, Oct 17, 2003 at 03:59:49PM +0100, Richard Jones wrote:
> Well perhaps. I don't think it hurts them, as they can continue to
> steal code unless their system diverges very greatly.  And if their
> aim is to create a proprietary operating system, then why not start
> with Linux and diverge?  It would certainly give them a big leg up.

They can't sell it in the West, so it wouldn't have any impact out here.
They also couldn't sell it within most of the rest of the proposed Asian
trade zone.  What happens inside China, where piracy is already rampant,
really isn't that relevant unless you don't have much to do with your
time apart from jump up and down about the unfairness of it all.

A significantly divergent product is likely to be a failure simply
because they wouldn't be able to maintain it.  A standard system with a
few proprietary add-ons would be irrelevant.  Neither product could be
sold in the West, due to copyright violation, and nobody in the open
source community would have any interest in it since they a) would not
have access to the source and b) could obtain perfectly good and
non-violatory versions of Linux for free.

If the Chinese government forces Chinese businesses to buy a
non-standard Chinese Linux and refuses to make the source available to
them in violation of the GPL then Chinese business suffers but then it's
that kind of country and we all knew that.

No advantage to them, no threat to us.

I suggest you wait until they actually try something like this, if they
ever do, and examine their actions for any real threat.  SCO, now,
that's a pressing issue and a real threat.  China violating the GPL,
that's an imaginary issue and you have so far failed to enumerate any
consequences that would harm Linux (or any consequences at all).

-- 
Bruce

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