I get really irritated when pundits (usually those trying to stamp out Free Software) describe the GNU GPL as “viral” or “infectious.” You have to make a conscious decision to link your code against GPL code! You can’t get “infected” by the GPL through any means other than your own choice. If you don’t want to release your code as Free Software, go find someone else’s libraries to link against. If you want to leverage the work of thousands of other developers from around the world, you play by their rules. Period. Most software companies require you to pay money to use their library, while GPL code developers require you to share and share alike. If you don’t like it, that’s fine – go create your own software ecosystem. But quit trying to convince the world that the GPL is bad just because you don’t like its terms.