BitKeeper, Linux, and licensing disputes: How Linus wrote Git in 14 days (Graphite blog)

Posted May 25, 2024 6:58 UTC (Sat) by felixfix (subscriber, #242)
In reply to: BitKeeper, Linux, and licensing disputes: How Linus wrote Git in 14 days (Graphite blog) by NYKevin
Parent article: BitKeeper, Linux, and licensing disputes: How Linus wrote Git in 14 days (Graphite blog)

The cost was unseen. There is always a cost. There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.

I can think of several.

* They did not negotiate a better license which would have avoided having to write git.

* They might have been able to get some sponsorship from BitMover, either $$$ or more workers.

* They surrendered control of their advertising image to BitMover.

They're all hypothetical but plausible.

BitKeeper, Linux, and licensing disputes: How Linus wrote Git in 14 days (Graphite blog)

Posted May 25, 2024 7:25 UTC (Sat) by NYKevin (subscriber, #129325) [Link] (5 responses)

So in other words, the "cost" was BitMover deciding not to give them even more free stuff (incl. intangibles such as licensing terms), and/or making true statements in their advertising?

I'm not trying to argue, I genuinely don't understand how that can be characterized as a cost to the kernel developers.

BitKeeper, Linux, and licensing disputes: How Linus wrote Git in 14 days (Graphite blog)

Posted May 25, 2024 12:28 UTC (Sat) by felixfix (subscriber, #242) [Link] (4 responses)

Opportunity cost? There's some econ 101 term for it.

BitKeeper, Linux, and licensing disputes: How Linus wrote Git in 14 days (Graphite blog)

Posted May 25, 2024 19:09 UTC (Sat) by NYKevin (subscriber, #129325) [Link] (3 responses)

Opportunity costs arise when an alternative is foregone. There was no alternative where BitMover gave them more free stuff or a better license.

BitKeeper, Linux, and licensing disputes: How Linus wrote Git in 14 days (Graphite blog)

Posted May 25, 2024 19:58 UTC (Sat) by felixfix (subscriber, #242) [Link] (2 responses)

There is always an alternative. They could have refused to use BitKeeper. They could have held out for a better license. They could have used one of the other up and coming distributed version control systems. They could have written their own sooner.

BitKeeper, Linux, and licensing disputes: How Linus wrote Git in 14 days (Graphite blog)

Posted May 26, 2024 6:49 UTC (Sun) by NYKevin (subscriber, #129325) [Link] (1 responses)

If you're going to read the first part of the sentence and respond to it as if the rest was not there, then there is no point in continuing this conversation.

BitKeeper, Linux, and licensing disputes: How Linus wrote Git in 14 days (Graphite blog)

Posted May 26, 2024 12:56 UTC (Sun) by felixfix (subscriber, #242) [Link]

Your second sentence says you knew that no alternative would be acceptable to BitMover. I listed alternatives. Now, personally I am glad for you, that you know what BitMover would and would not have accepted. Me, I am too ignorant to have such great knowledge of 19 year old events. So, please, accept my apologies for not realizing how much you knew.