9 Sep
2022
9 Sep
'22
5:34 a.m.
On Thu, Sep 8, 2022 at 6:16 PM Larry McVoy <lm(a)mcvoy.com> wrote:
I believe you. But BSD's rewrite was good enough. The real key is the
BSDi/UCB *vs.* USL/AT&T case was *not about the code (or copyrights).* That
is the piece most hackers don't seem to understand. The case was about *trade
secrets (or not) *and thus the *ideas*. BSDi/UCB released their system
which clearly had started with code that had originated with AT&T and thus
the *ideas* had to have originated there too.
I think too many hackers get caught up in FOSS, GPL,* et al,* and miss the
point.
The real debt which we can never repay Doug, Ken, Dennis, and friends was
their *ideas* and the way they broke down and solved problems. The code
is a by-product, the existence proof that it was more than theory, but had
a practical use.
ᐧ
It was
rewritten over time,
which replaced AT&T's implementation. Which is all that was ever
claimed.
And it's a false claim.