Torvalds decided to use the GNU General Public License, not because he fully embraced the free-sharing ideology of Stallman {or for that matter his own parents} but because he thought that letting hackers around the world get their hands on the source code would lead to an open collaborative effort that would make it a truly awesome piece of software. My reasons for putting Linux out there were pretty selfish, he said. I didn't want the headache of trying to deal with parts of the operating system that I saw as the crap work. I wanted help.136
Linus Torvalds chose to release Linux under the GNU General Public License not out of a total commitment to free software ideals, but rather to promote collaboration. He believed that making the source code accessible to hackers globally would foster a cooperative community, ultimately enhancing the software's quality. His motivation was primarily personal; he sought assistance in handling the more tedious aspects of operating system development.
By allowing others to contribute, Torvalds aimed to alleviate his workload and focus on the creative parts he enjoyed. This approach reflects a practical and strategic mindset, demonstrating that his decisions were driven by the desire for a better product rather than ideological allegiance. In essence, the decision catalyzed a community-driven effort that would shape the future of open-source software.
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Other quotes in The Innovators: How a Group of Inventors, Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution
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All the things you can talk about in anyone's work are the things that are least important.
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