The GPL is a weapon (Score 2, Insightful)

I see a lot of comments here saying that Stallman is a zealot, and both he and the GPL are harming software freedoms. Stallman IS a zealot. When something is important, you need somebody who will not back down or negotiate. The GPL is NOT friendly. It is a weapon against those who would steal our freedom, steal our code. Arguments claiming the GPL is bad for freedom sound a lot like arguments saying a standing military is bad for peace. Freedom and peace are both worth fighting for, even if the goal is to end the fighting. I can dream of a day when the GPL could be retired. When public domain works will not be stolen from the public. When proprietary software companies will no longer use their own EULA and patent weapons to devastate the freedoms of competitors, developers, and end-users. Whether such a day will ever come, I don't know. Today though, right now, if you value your freedom to write and use software as you choose, you cannot condemn those who fight for your freedom, nor the weapons they use to ensure it.