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<title>Viral Code and Vaccination - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title>
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<h2 class="c">Viral class="article reduced-width">
<h2>Viral Code and Vaccination</h2>

<address class="byline c">by class="byline">by Robert J. Chassell</address>

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<p>When others hurt me, I try to defend myself.  But some tell me that
this makes them sick.  They tell me that I should permit people to rob
me of my work.  They tell me that I should never try to defend
myself.</p>

<p>They tell me that I should stop using the GNU General Public
License, a license that vaccinates me against hurt.  Instead, I should
adopt a license that permits other people to rob me with impunity.
They want me to adopt a license that forbids me from fighting back.
They want me to give up my right to benefit from a derivative of my
own work, a right I possess under current copyright law.</p>

<p>Of course, the language is a little less feverish than this.
Usually, I myself am not called “infectious”. “infectious.”  Rather, the
legal defense that I use is called “infectious”. “infectious.”  The
license I choose is called “viral”.</p> “viral.”</p>

<p>In every day language, words such as “infect” and
“virus” describe disease.  The rhetoric is metaphorical.
A legal tool is not a disease organism; but it is popular to think of
the law as an illness, so the metaphor has impact.</p>

<p>The people who want to rob me use language that says I make them
sick when I stop them from robbing me.  They do not want to draw
attention to the so-called “disease” that makes them ill:
my health and my rights, and the health and rights of other people.
Instead, they choose metaphor to twist people's thinking.  They do not
want anyone to think that I am a good citizen for stopping crime.
They want the metaphor to fool others into thinking that I am a
disease agent.</p>

<p>The GNU General Public License protects me.  The connotation of
“virus” and “infect” is that my choice of
defense gives an illness to those who want to rob me.  I want freedom
from their robbery; but they want the power to hurt me.  They get sick
when they cannot hurt me.</p>

<p>To use another health and illness-related metaphor, the GNU General
Public License <em>vaccinates</em> me; it protects me from theft.</p>

<p>Note that the theft about which I am talking is entirely legal in
some situations: if you license your work under a modified BSD
license, or a similar license, then others may legally take your work,
make fixes or improvements to it, and forbid you from using that
code. I personally dislike this arrangement, but it exists.</p>
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<p>Please send general FSF & GNU inquiries to <a
href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org"><gnu@gnu.org></a>.  There are also <a
href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a> the FSF.  Broken links and other
corrections or suggestions can be sent to <a
href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org"><webmasters@gnu.org></a>.</p>

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<p>
Copyright © 2008, 2014 2008 Robert J. Chassell
</p>
<p>Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article are
permitted worldwide, without royalty, in any medium, provided this
notice, and the copyright notice, are preserved.
</p>

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<p class="unprintable">Updated:
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$Date: 2023/12/31 14:16:27 $
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