1. I don't find it easy to read the original post as implying Google is honestly convinced of its viewpoint.
2. It's a huge difference in meaning. Assume for the sake of argument that Drew is right about the interpretation of AGPL.
How should we interpret Google's actions? If they're paranoid, and afraid that the AGPL might require them to open-source their entire code base, that's unfortunate. You might still call them greedy assholes making open source worse, but it is a real fear that most commercial entities would be concerned about if it's realistic.
But if they knew better, and were lying, that's a completely different level of shitty behavior. If there's any ambiguity about that in Drew's post, it ought to be resolved.
1. I don't find it easy to read the original post as implying Google is honestly convinced of its viewpoint.
2. It's a huge difference in meaning. Assume for the sake of argument that Drew is right about the interpretation of AGPL.
How should we interpret Google's actions? If they're paranoid, and afraid that the AGPL might require them to open-source their entire code base, that's unfortunate. You might still call them greedy assholes making open source worse, but it is a real fear that most commercial entities would be concerned about if it's realistic.
But if they knew better, and were lying, that's a completely different level of shitty behavior. If there's any ambiguity about that in Drew's post, it ought to be resolved.