No claim was made that it is not open source. The contention was over if it was a free license or not:

> not free software

which it is. As F3nd0 said, it's both.

The Unlicense isn't "just" public domain though, it also has a fallback clause that explicitly lists things you are allowed to do ("copy, modify, publish, use, compile, sell, or distribute"). So I think the intent is, even if PD isn't recognized and line 1 is invalid, you're still granting a license to the same effect.

SQLite on the other hand just says

    The author disclaims copyright to this source code.  In place of a legal
    notice, here is a blessing:

      May you do good and not evil.
      May you find forgiveness for yourself and forgive others.
      May you share freely, never taking more than you give.

From an American perspective, there’s no mechanical difference between that and the MIT license when it comes to security.

They care more about the package being maintained, bug-free, and their preferred vulnerability database showing no active exploits.

At least in my experience, anyway. Other companies may have stricter requirements.

Who cares? Seriously. Whether a commercial entity who wants to be able to benefit from your work accepts the license you choose for work you do is as much a concern as whether or not the prime minister of Liechtenstein accepts the color you paint the outside of your house in the USA. That is: none.

I think you are mistaken; neither is a subset of the other. At the very least, there are licences which are recognised as open source by the OSI, but not as free by the FSF, and vice versa [1]. I think it’s more appropriate to say they are two fundamentally separate definitions with a massive overlap.

[1] https://spdx.org/licenses/

> Edit: I was not aware of the FSF's definition. I was using a definition of free software being software that you can use without having to pay for it.

That’s called freeware. Also, open-source software can be paid (with the caveat that if someone buys it, you must allow them to redistribute it for free).

> Not all free software is open sourc

Depends on which "free software" definition you're referring to.

The FSF definition of "free software" requires it to be open source.

You have recited a successful incantation to summon the Stallman acolytes.

To add an additional suggestion, gratis can also be used to refer to free as in free beer. Comes from a latin root and is common in spanish speaking countries to refer only to free of charge, and not as in freedom.

It was enshittified because there was nothing defending it.