Linus quotes

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Ask a lawyer. Really.

I know people on this list are engineers and programmers, and you think that technology is all that matters, and that if you link in one situation and do exactly the same motions ("walk around the computer three times widdershins, and give the -dynamic option to 'ld'") then you are doing the same thing.

But that's not how "the real world" works. In the real world, intent and permission matter a whole lot. When you make love to your wife in the privacy of your own home, the "real world" is perfectly ok with that. When you do the same thing to somebody you didn't get permission from, it's a major crime and you can be put into prison for decades - even though technically the movements are pretty much the same.

See? Intent matters. How you do something _technically_ does not.

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