Re: Contributor agreements and copyright assignment
On Sat, Dec 01, 2012 at 10:24:53AM +0100, Tollef Fog Heen wrote:
> ]] Wouter Verhelst
>
> [...]
>
> > Personally, I'm not comfortable signing off my copyright to the FSF, for
> > the very same reason I'm not comfortable signing off copyright to
> > Canonical: while both are led by a person whom so far hasn't show much
> > reason for me to distrust them, it is also true that both leaders have
> > an agenda that I don't completely trust or agree with.
>
> The FSF is bound by its bylaws.
So are most corporations.
> > Yes, one of the groups makes a profit, and the other doesn't. I don't
> > think money is dirty, however, so that doesn't even remotely factor into
> > my decision.
>
> This isn't about whether money is dirty or not, it's about whether you
> give your copyright to somebody who are able to do whatever they want
> with it or not. The FSF's is a lot more tied than a private corporation
> is.
Only in that they promise to keep your contributions free software.
While that is okay in and of itself, the FSF bylaws don't specify what
their idea of freedom entails, and indeed has on occasion proven that
their idea of freedom is less strict than ours.
Note that I'm not saying that the FSF is evil, only that I have no
particular reason to trust them more than I trust Canonical.
> You might not consider this a problem, but it is a fairly significant
> difference.
Perhaps.
--
Copyshops should do vouchers. So that next time some bureaucracy requires you
to mail a form in triplicate, you can mail it just once, add a voucher, and
save on postage.
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