One could argue that GPL is very permissive. If you need to use it in a proprietary way in your own company for internal purposes, no problem; if you release software that others use, you have to release the code as well. I dont want to be using black boxes in this day and age.
As a user of code I feel it is more permissive to me to see the code. As a licenser of code I want what is best for me and for others as a user and future developer. Others are free to do anything as long as they dont remove the license and the modified code if they release a software.
If one wanted a different linguistic of pseudo philosophical spin, one could argue that a society would be more permissive than ours in a similar sense that MIT is more permissive than GNU, if it allowed free killing of random people for no reason. Nobody wants to live in such a society and it would not develop as fast as our society. I want to live in a society that permits collaboration, editing, and modification of software I use under the guarantee of the license.
> As a user of code I feel it is more permissive to me to see the code. As a licenser of code I want what is best for me and for others as a user and future developer.
That is a fair point. I admit I'm speaking purely from a selfish dev perspective. I am glad there are other licenses available, and that people are free to choose what fits them. I myself simply won't use GPL code, however, for the reasons I've specified.
