Linus was always bitchy...

You may not care that your code is used on TiVo-like devices where you can't substitute your own, modified version and run that instead, but if others do, what's wrong with that? Code I write is *my* code, and I can put it under any license I want to, so you shouldn't tell me I cannot use a license to "retaliate". I'd already be giving TiVo something they'd not have otherwise - they right to use my code, if they meet certain requirements -, so they'd not be a position to complain.

What's more, I think that for those who're not really interested in the technical details of licenses and who just want the "tit for tat" that Linus mentioned, the fact that it's perfectly legal for TiVo to use their code and, at the same time, prevent them from modifying the resulting work may be an unpleasant surprise.

For me, the restrictions the GPLv3 introduces in that regard are no more unacceptable than the GPLv2's requirements that source code be shipped in the "preferred form for modification" - you could also argue that that's unfair to those who'd rather send you the source on microfiche than as a tarball, but nobody in their right mind would do that.

Why is the whole DRM thing different? It all boils down to my actually being able to *use* the source code I received; if I cannot use it, the whole "tit for tat" collapses like a house of cards.

So if Linus is really interested in "tit for tat" and fairness, then I'm not sure why he's opposed to this.

you might also be upset if it's used in weapons, or if it's used on porn sites, or if it's used by an islamic organization.

I, respectfully, don't think that's an apt metaphor. The objection to weapons use, in the context of Tivo's usage, would be more along the lines of "I object to Tivo using my code because TV leads to people reading fewer books."

I think objecting to someone selling you a device running code you wrote and not letting you modify it in a useful manner is very different from objecting to someone using your code for a purpose you don't like. The first case is about not having significant access to your code; in the second case you have meaningful access but have a problem with their usage of your code. As you've explained, the GPL doesn't let you choose what people can do with your code, but it _does_ ensure that you'll have meaningful access to the code if they sell/distribute it back to you. Seems to me that this new clause proctects this right in the case of a Tivo-like device and it's an important right to protect.

As for the weapons, I suppose they could always tape CDs with the sourcecode on them to their warheads in order comply. ;)

The GPL says I can fix bugs and security holes, I can customise it to my needs, I can support it after the company has gone under. So giving the source with no way to use it IS circumventing the intent of the GPL. I see GPLv3 as a more explicit statement of the goals of the GPL.

If the kernel developers didn't agree with the goals of the GPL, why did they choose it? Did they understand the intent/goals of the GPL to be something different?