Re: web hosting providers' modified .debs
> FW> GPLv3 makes it pretty clear that Dreamhost can take your rights away
>
> So all that effort of writing Free Software and the result is there is
> Johnny, sitting at the shell prompt, unable to see the source code
> to anything behind it if they decide to close it.
Yes, I find the bring-yourself-into-slavery clause extremely
discomforting, too:
| You may make, run and propagate covered works that you do not
| convey, without conditions so long as your license otherwise remains
| in force. You may convey covered works to others for the sole purpose
| of having them make modifications exclusively for you, or provide you
| with facilities for running those works, provided that you comply with
| the terms of this License in conveying all material for which you do
| not control copyright. Those thus making or running the covered works
| for you must do so exclusively on your behalf, under your direction
| and control, on terms that prohibit them from making any copies of
| your copyrighted material outside their relationship with you.
This was put into the license at the very last moment. Maybe it does
not apply to the Dreamhost case, but I think it does apply to appliances
like the Tivo, and especially to customer premises equipment given to
you by our ISP (which are a common source of alleged GPLv2 violations).
Tivo (or the ISP) only needs to make sure that there's a contract that
stipulates that you provide electrical power and connectivity to the
device, so you perform a service for them, and voilà, they don't need to
provide source code anymore.
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