Daniweb.com has published an interview with Joe “Zonker” Brockmeier, openSUSE Community Manager regarding FOSS License FUD. Zonker share his though about FOSS FUD and clearly explain why it totally wrong. His experience as a journalist and column writer with various open source topics give him a wide range overview about FOSS FUD and how to encounter the problem caused.
A good and interesting interview, because I experience with same situation as well as Ron Miller, the interviewer.
Seems every time I write a piece suggesting open source as an option, I get a couple of comments warning readers about the scary complexities of open source licenses. So I decided to ask a guy who knows free and open source (FOSS) exactly what the deal was regarding FOSS licensing and whether they were really any more or less complex than their commercial counterparts.
Joe ‘Zonker’ Brockmeier, who is Community Manager for openSUSE and has been working with FOSS in one way or another since 1996, says the bottom line is that you should always check the license language carefully, so that you are keenly aware of the terms, but you should never let the license scare you away from open source.
