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%% Stewart Honsberger <blkdeath@g.o> writes: |
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|
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sh> Donnie Berkholz wrote: |
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>>> Could someone plz point me to those words in new version which cause |
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>>> all the troubles? |
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>> OK, let me lay it out as concisely as possible. |
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>> 1) XFree86 license 1.1 _requires_ attribution with other third-party |
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>> attributions. |
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>> 2) This requirement is an additional restriction beyond what the GPL |
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>> itself restricts. |
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>> 3) The GPL prohibits any additional restrictions. |
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>> From these three points we conclude: |
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>> 4) The XFree86 license 1.1 is incompatible with the GPL. |
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|
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sh> So the only problem with this whole mess is that the XFree people |
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sh> want us to give them credit in the same place and mannar as we |
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sh> already give other third parties credit? |
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|
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No. In fact RMS was recently quoted on this subject as saying that the |
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request for attribution is not in itself a bad thing: |
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|
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http://www.ofb.biz/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=297 |
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|
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The problem is exactly what Donnie says: the license is not compatible |
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with the GPL. |
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|
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Much of the software distributed on your distribution is licensed under |
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the GPL, including many X applications. If the license of the X |
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libraries is not compatible with the GPL, then no one can distribute |
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them together. |
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|
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Qt, for example, is only distributable without royalties under the GPL, |
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which means that no Qt libraries can be linked with X libraries under |
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the new license (unless you pay $$ to TT). I'm sure the KDE folks, at |
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the least, would not be happy about that. |
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|
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sh> XFree86, pending a replacement, is the only thing giving Linux any |
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sh> credibility as a desktop operating system. Therefore, I would say |
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sh> it's rather an integral part of the acceptance of our distribution |
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sh> and OS as a whole. As such, I wouldn't think a one-liner in a |
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sh> README, INSTALL, or product literature is such a Big Stinking |
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sh> Deal. |
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|
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No one said it was. |
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|
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sh> It's not like they're making the software non-free, they're not |
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sh> demanding royalties, they're not prohibiting the software from |
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sh> being distributed, they're just asking for due credit. |
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|
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Yes. The problem is the way they are doing it. |
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|
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sh> Think of it from their point of view; when some Joe Schmoe starts |
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sh> up X, they see what - KDE or Gnome. What do they think is |
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sh> providing them a GUI? KDE or Gnome. They don't realize that |
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sh> underneath these environments is a hard-working old man spewing |
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sh> 2D/3D rendering instructions to their video cards and keeping the |
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sh> windows from falling off the screen. All they want is a small |
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sh> heads-up. Is that so wrong? |
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|
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You're arguing a straw man. |
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|
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sh> I'd really like a point-by-point dissection of the objectionable |
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sh> license changes |
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|
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Donnie provided one, and you even quoted it above. |
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|
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It may seem a little thing to you, but free software folks care a lot |
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about these kinds of things. We rely heavily on copyright and licenses, |
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and so we try to respect both the letter _and_ the intent of each one |
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that we use. |
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|
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sh> Thank-you in advance for helping us understand a potentially |
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sh> earth-shattering situation over which we seem to have no control. |
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|
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Really, I think you're overstating the enormity of the situation. We |
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still have all the distribution up to 4.4rc2. X has been forked before |
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(where do you think XFree came from in the first place?), and it can |
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easily be forked again if it comes to that. |
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|
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But, I doubt it will come to that. |
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|
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-- |
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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Paul D. Smith <psmith@××××××××××××××.com> HASMAT--HA Software Mthds & Tools |
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"Please remain calm...I may be mad, but I am a professional." --Mad Scientist |
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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These are my opinions---Nortel Networks takes no responsibility for them. |
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|
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-- |
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