Re: My Favorite soapbox : XML linkage (was Re: [DotGNU]Jabber-thon)

[Richard Stallman]

    What if we want to create web services that can only
    be used by GPLed programs? 

In general, if you have implented just an arbitrary web service, I
don't think there is any way to impose such a requirement.  Perhaps
you could require each user to sign a contract promising to use only
GPL-covered software to access the system.  I have a bad feeling about
the idea of a web site's trying to restrict what software users can
access it with, though.

In some cases, if the web service in question consists of talking in
an intimate way with some GPL-covered server software, we might try to
argue that the client side and the server are really one program and
the GPL applies to the client.  However, in that situation it would
be rather hard for that argument to prevail.

It seems to follow that if DotGNU programs use Jabber in a
straightforward way to communicate with each other, non-free programs
will easily be able to talk with them.  Is that a bad thing?
I am not certain.

    We still need to be rethink the entire licensing issue
    for the creation of the GPL "viral" effect on the
    greater level. 

Please don't compare the GPL with a virus.
It is misleading, and it is very unfriendly.