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FOSS programmers, what do you think of horrible people using your software? (lemmy.world)

submitted 4 months ago by zephyr@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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I just learned that Nmap is almost GPL except that they revoked the license specifically for SCO group for their SCO–Linux disputes.

This got me thinking, what do open source programmers think of evil companies or horrible people using their software?

Don't get me wrong, FOSS software by its nature can't be controlled or strictly prevented of being used. But in case of companies like SCO, that is a thing that at least can cause them headache and they risk getting into legal trouble. A programmer for example can modify GPL to make so that his software can't be used by Microsoft or Facebook, but it is GPL for everybody else.

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[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 3 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

I built and maintained Open-source software.

I worked for SCO during the time when the rabid halfwits were weaponized by IBM to vilify everything SCO did or didn't do via Pamela-the-ex-IBM-employee's 'totally impartial' website. SCO was, and remains, the best job and work environment ever.

My software was surely used by nefarious types. But by that time, I was done with it: I code it, I build it, I distribute it, and then it belongs to the world. You can't have it any other way, really.

And, one day, find out what really happened with SCO/IBM.

[–] darkpanda@lemmy.ca 3 points 4 months ago

Remember when Darl showed some “encrypted code” that he claimed was stolen and added to Linux and it was really just some POSIX definitions from a header file taken from BSD “encrypted” with a wing dings font? Those were some wild times.