--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At the end of the day, the GPL is not…" description: "\"At the end of the day, the GPL is not about making software free; it's about destroying value.\" — Darl McBride" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/darl-mcbride-40541_destroying_at-the-end-of-the-day-the-gpl-is-not-abo_1217065.jpg" --- # At the end of the day, the GPL is not about making… ![“At the end of the day, the GPL is not about making software free; it's about destroying value.” quote by Darl McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/darl-mcbride-40541_destroying_at-the-end-of-the-day-the-gpl-is-not-abo_1217065.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/darl-mcbride-40541_destroying_at-the-end-of-the-day-the-gpl-is-not-abo_1217065.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/darl-mcbride-40541_destroying_at-the-end-of-the-day-the-gpl-is-not-abo_1217065.jpg) > “At the end of the day, the GPL is not about making software free; it's about destroying value.” [Darl McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darl-mcbride/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The GPL aims to undermine commercial value rather than promote software freedom. **In simple terms:** GPL is seen as anti‑profit. Key Takeaway Consider the broader impact of open‑source licensing. Themes software freedom value business ethics Mood critical analytical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - startup funding - enterprise software - open‑source community - policy making Key Concepts intellectual property commons market dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Is software freedom compatible with profitable business models? - What alternatives balance openness and value? A Different Perspective Critics argue this view ignores collaborative benefits of open source. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [End of the day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-of-the-day/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [Software](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/software/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [Wings' was my moment to free myself from everything that was destroying me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vic-mensa/wings-was-my-moment-to-free-myself-from-everything-that-was/) [Vic Mensa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vic-mensa/) > [Inflation has ... become the cruelest tax, destroying the value of the dollar and adding new costs to every purchase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-t-grasso/inflation-has-become-the-cruelest-tax-destroying-the-value-of-the/) [Ella T. Grasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-t-grasso/) > [Once GNU is written, everyone will be able to obtain good system software free, just like air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-stallman/once-gnu-is-written-everyone-will-be-able-to-obtain-good-system/) [Richard Stallman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-stallman/) > [“As the old joke goes: “Software, free. User manual, $10,000.” But it’s no joke.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/as-the-old-joke-goes-software-free-user-manual-10-000-but-it-s-no-joke/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [I'm not interested in offering software for free of charge. That's because I myself am one of the game developers who, in the future,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satoru-iwata/i-m-not-interested-in-offering-software-for-free-of-charge-that-s/) [Satoru Iwata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satoru-iwata/) > [Religion grants its adherents malign, intoxicating and morally corrosive sensations. Destroying intellectual freedom is always evil, but only religion makes doing evil feel quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/religion-grants-its-adherents-malign-intoxicating-and-morally/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Time is a corrosive fluid, dissolving motivation, destroying novelty, and leaching the joy from life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/time-is-a-corrosive-fluid-dissolving-motivation-destroying-novelty/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [The future is religion and commerce, aphrodisiac and Benzedrine, a mother of mysterious comfort and a mistress of familiar ravishments ever on the verge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-kennedy/the-future-is-religion-and-commerce-aphrodisiac-and-benzedrine-a/) [Eugene Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-kennedy/) > [Do not suppose that abuses are eliminated by destroying the object which is abused. Men can go wrong with wine and women. Shall we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/do-not-suppose-that-abuses-are-eliminated-by-destroying-the-object/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-h-boetcker/you-cannot-help-the-poor-by-destroying-the-rich/) [William J. H. Boetcker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-h-boetcker/) > [If the civil magistrate be a Christian, a disciple or follower of the meek Lamb of God, he is bound to be far from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-williams/if-the-civil-magistrate-be-a-christian-a-disciple-or-follower-of-the/) [Roger Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-williams/) > [Work and leisure are complementary parts of the same living process and cannot be separated without destroying the joy of work and the bliss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-schumacher/work-and-leisure-are-complementary-parts-of-the-same-living-process/) [E. F. Schumacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-schumacher/) > [What Wall Street and credit card companies are doing is really not much different from what gangsters and loan sharks do who make predatory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/what-wall-street-and-credit-card-companies-are-doing-is-really-not/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. I've been trying to say for I don't know how many months now that the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-a-different-ball-of-wax-i-ve-been-trying-to-say-for-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) ## More by Darl McBride > [Obviously Linux owes its heritage to UNIX, but not its code. We would not, nor will not, make such a claim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darl-mcbride/obviously-linux-owes-its-heritage-to-unix-but-not-its-code-we-would/) [Darl McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darl-mcbride/) > [IBM has taken our valuable trade secrets and given them away to Linux.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darl-mcbride/ibm-has-taken-our-valuable-trade-secrets-and-given-them-away-to-linux/) [Darl McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darl-mcbride/) > [When we take a top-tier view of the amount of code showing up inside of Linux today that is either directly related to our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darl-mcbride/when-we-take-a-top-tier-view-of-the-amount-of-code-showing-up-inside/) [Darl McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darl-mcbride/) > [I've been pounding the table here for a year or so saying there's no free lunch, and there is going to be a day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darl-mcbride/i-ve-been-pounding-the-table-here-for-a-year-or-so-saying-there-s-no/) [Darl McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darl-mcbride/) > [And C++ programming languages, we own those, have licensed them out multiple times, obviously. We have a lot of royalties coming to us from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darl-mcbride/and-c-programming-languages-we-own-those-have-licensed-them-out/) [Darl McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darl-mcbride/) > [Mark my words, there will be a day that will come when you will all see many, many documents that will directly contradict IBM's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darl-mcbride/mark-my-words-there-will-be-a-day-that-will-come-when-you-will-all/) [Darl McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darl-mcbride/) > [We're not talking about insignificant amounts of code. It's substantial System V code showing up in Linux.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darl-mcbride/we-re-not-talking-about-insignificant-amounts-of-code-it-s/) [Darl McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darl-mcbride/) > [Linux doesn't have IP roots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darl-mcbride/linux-doesn-t-have-ip-roots/) [Darl McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darl-mcbride/) > [We counted over a million lines of code that we allege are infringed in the Linux kernel today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darl-mcbride/we-counted-over-a-million-lines-of-code-that-we-allege-are-infringed/) [Darl McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darl-mcbride/) > [The business model of Linux distribution is broken; it's like the business model of the dotcoms. Running your company on Linux is like running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darl-mcbride/the-business-model-of-linux-distribution-is-broken-it-s-like-the/) [Darl McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darl-mcbride/) [Explore all 11 Darl McBride quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darl-mcbride/) ## More Destroying quotes > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. I've been trying to say for I don't know how many months now that the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-a-different-ball-of-wax-i-ve-been-trying-to-say-for-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [What Wall Street and credit card companies are doing is really not much different from what gangsters and loan sharks do who make predatory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/what-wall-street-and-credit-card-companies-are-doing-is-really-not/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [Work and leisure are complementary parts of the same living process and cannot be separated without destroying the joy of work and the bliss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-schumacher/work-and-leisure-are-complementary-parts-of-the-same-living-process/) [E. F. Schumacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-schumacher/) > [If the civil magistrate be a Christian, a disciple or follower of the meek Lamb of God, he is bound to be far from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-williams/if-the-civil-magistrate-be-a-christian-a-disciple-or-follower-of-the/) [Roger Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-williams/) > [You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-h-boetcker/you-cannot-help-the-poor-by-destroying-the-rich/) [William J. H. Boetcker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-h-boetcker/) > [Do not suppose that abuses are eliminated by destroying the object which is abused. Men can go wrong with wine and women. Shall we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/do-not-suppose-that-abuses-are-eliminated-by-destroying-the-object/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [The future is religion and commerce, aphrodisiac and Benzedrine, a mother of mysterious comfort and a mistress of familiar ravishments ever on the verge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-kennedy/the-future-is-religion-and-commerce-aphrodisiac-and-benzedrine-a/) [Eugene Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-kennedy/) > [Time is a corrosive fluid, dissolving motivation, destroying novelty, and leaching the joy from life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/time-is-a-corrosive-fluid-dissolving-motivation-destroying-novelty/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [Religion grants its adherents malign, intoxicating and morally corrosive sensations. Destroying intellectual freedom is always evil, but only religion makes doing evil feel quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/religion-grants-its-adherents-malign-intoxicating-and-morally/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Even if we are destroying this planet, we are playing our role perfectly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-kest/even-if-we-are-destroying-this-planet-we-are-playing-our-role/) [Bryan Kest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-kest/) > [Love creates an "us" without destroying the "me".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/love-creates-an-us-without-destroying-the-me/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) > [As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-societies-grow-decadent-the-language-grows-decadent-too-words-are/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutan shave been living for hundreds of thousands of years in their forest,living fantastic lives, never overpopulating, never destroying the forest. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/chimpanzees-gorillas-orangutan-shave-been-living-for-hundreds-of/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [People of the Philippines: I have returned. By the grace of Almighty God our forces stand again on Philippine soil—soil consecrated in the blood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/people-of-the-philippines-i-have-returned-by-the-grace-of-almighty/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) Browse all 983 Destroying quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "At the end of the day, the GPL is not about making software free; it's about destroying value.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Darl McBride" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darl-mcbride/at-the-end-of-the-day-the-gpl-is-not-about-making-software-free-it-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Destroying" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darl-mcbride/at-the-end-of-the-day-the-gpl-is-not-about-making-software-free-it-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/darl-mcbride-40541_destroying_at-the-end-of-the-day-the-gpl-is-not-abo_1217065.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/darl-mcbride-40541_destroying_at-the-end-of-the-day-the-gpl-is-not-abo_1217065.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/darl-mcbride-40541_destroying_at-the-end-of-the-day-the-gpl-is-not-abo_1217065.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“At the end of the day, the GPL is not about making software free; it's about destroying value.” — Darl McBride", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Darl McBride", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darl-mcbride/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "At the end of the day,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darl-mcbride/at-the-end-of-the-day-the-gpl-is-not-about-making-software-free-it-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darl-mcbride/at-the-end-of-the-day-the-gpl-is-not-about-making-software-free-it-s/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```