Re: PHPNuke license

[tb@becket.net (Thomas Bushnell, BSG)]

David Turner <novalis@novalis.org> writes:

> * d) If the Program as you received it is intended to interact with
> users through a computer network and if, in the version you received,
> any user interacting with the Program was given the opportunity to
> request transmission to that user of the Program's complete source code,
> you must not remove that facility from your modified version of the
> Program or work based on the Program, and must offer an equivalent
> opportunity for all users interacting with your Program through a
> computer network to request immediate transmission by HTTP of the
> complete source code of your modified version or other derivative work.

This is yet another invariant section; "if the program has feature X,
you are not allowed to remove feature X".

Here's a disastrous consequence.  Suppose the program as I received it
is a general purpose net audio widget, and it does have a provision to
request a copy of the source code.

I want to modify the program into a voice-mail agent that will answer
my phone.  I find that the cataloging and control features of the
widget are just what I need for this task.

But whoops!  The telephone system is a "computer network", and so now
my answering machine has to tell people "hit 3 to receive a copy of
the source".  And indeed, how in God's name am I supposed to provide
the person calling me an HTTP of the source code?

And, the real killer, it fails the Chinese dissident test rather
massively.

Thomas