Re: draft for new Vim license

[Bram Moolenaar <Bram@moolenaar.net>]

Richard Stallman wrote:

> 	   c) Provide the changes, including source code, with every copy of the
> 	      modified Vim you distribute.  This may be done in the form of a
> 	      context diff.  You can chose what license to use for new code you
> 	      add, so long as it does not restrict others from changing the
> 	      official version of Vim.
> 
>     This prevents someboy from adding a patented item and not permitting
>     others to add a similar item to Vim.
> 
> I am not convinced those words really do this job.  The difficulty is
> that, in such a case, it is not "the license for the new code" which
> restricts others, but rather the patent which does so.
> 
> Maybe these words would do the job:
> 
> 	   c) Provide the changes, including source code, with every
> 	      copy of the modified Vim you distribute.  This may be
> 	      done in the form of a context diff.  You can chose what
> 	      license to use for new code you add, so long as it
> 	      permits others to include all or any part of this new
> 	      code in a subsequent official version of Vim.
> 
> And you might want to add
> 
> "... and release it under this License."

Good point, this sentence can be misinterpreted.  However, your words
change the intention.  I do want to allow people to make changes that
use any license.  I only want to avoid that those changes prevents a
similar change to be done (by someone else) in the official version of
Vim.  The requirement that I'm allowed to include the changes in Vim
makes it complicated.  Effectively this means the license for the
changes must be compatible with the Vim license.  This causes the
problems like what happens with GPL'ed software, which is what I was
trying to avoid.

How about this instead (only the second halve changed):

       c) Provide the changes, including source code, with every copy of the
	  modified Vim you distribute.  This may be done in the form of a
	  context diff.  You can chose what license to use for new code you
	  add.  The changes and their license must not restrict others from
	  making their own changes to the official version of Vim.

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 ///  Bram Moolenaar -- Bram@moolenaar.net -- http://www.moolenaar.net  \\\
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