1. Why Copyleft? {#why-copyleft .chapter}
================

为什么使用 Copyleft
==========

> Copyright © 2003, 2007, 2008, 2013 Free Software Foundation, Inc. 此文原载于 <http://gnu.org>

> When it comes to defending the freedom of others, to lie down and do
> nothing is an act of weakness, not humility.

> 当涉及到为别人保护自由的时候，躺下什么都不做这是一种软弱的表现，而不是谦卑。

In the GNU Project we usually recommend people use copyleft[(1)](#FOOT1)
licenses like GNU GPL, rather than permissive noncopyleft free software
licenses. We don’t argue harshly against the noncopyleft licenses—in
fact, we occasionally recommend them in special circumstances—but the
advocates of those licenses show a pattern of arguing harshly against
the GPL.

在 GNU 工程中，我们通常建议人们使用 Copyleft[^1] 许可证，比如 GNU GPL，而不是宽松的非 Copyleft 自由软件许可证。我们不会极力反对非 Copyleft 许可证——事实上在特殊情况下我们还建议使用这些——然而这些许可证的倡导者往往极力反对 GPL。

In one such argument, a person stated that his use of one of the BSD
licenses was an “act of humility”: “I ask nothing of those who use my
code, except to credit me.” It is rather a stretch to describe a legal
demand for credit as “humility,” but there is a deeper point to be
considered here.

比如一个人说，使用 BSD 许可证是“一种谦卑的举动”：“我不会对使用我代码的人索要任何权力，只要尊重我就行。这种描述想当夸张，将一种法律诉求说成是“谦卑”，我们需要思考更深刻一些。

Humility is abnegating your own self interest, but you and the one who
uses your code are not the only ones affected by your choice of which
free software license to use for your code. Someone who uses your code
in a nonfree program is trying to deny freedom to others, and if you let
him do it, you’re failing to defend their freedom. When it comes to
defending the freedom of others, to lie down and do nothing is an act of
weakness, not humility.

谦卑是放弃你自己的利益，然而你和使用你代码的人不是唯一受到你选择这种自由软件许可证影响的人。还包括另外一些将你的代码使用在非自由程序的人，会试图拒绝给别人以自由，如果你让他这么做了，就会丧失保卫自由。当涉及到为别人保护自由的时候，躺下什么都不做这是一种软弱的表现，而不是谦卑。

Releasing your code under one of the BSD licenses, or some other
permissive noncopyleft license, is not doing wrong; the program is still
free software, and still a contribution to our community. But it is
weak, and in most cases it is not the best way to promote users’ freedom
to share and change software.

以 BSD 或其他宽松的非 Copyleft 许可证发布你的代码，并不是错的；程序依旧是自由软件，对我们社区来讲也是一份贡献。然而这很弱，绝大多数情况下，这也不是推广用户分享和修改自由的最佳方式。

### [(1)](#DOCF1)

@raggedright See “What Is Copyleft?” (@pageref{Copyleft}). @end
raggedright

[^1]: 参看《什么是 Copyleft？》一文。