Re: TeX (Knuth) copyright
On Mon, Oct 19, 1998 at 05:41:42PM +0200, Alexander Shumakovitch wrote:
> On Mon, Oct 19, 1998 at 04:00:51PM +0200, Rafael Laboissiere wrote:
> > Hi Jules,
> >
> > >>>>> "JB" == Jules Bean <jmlb2@hermes.cam.ac.uk> writes:
> >
> > JB> Well, according to /usr/doc/tetex*/copyright on my system, Tex
> > JB> is GPL.
> >
> > Thanks for your reply. This is my understanding too, as the copyright
> > files in /usr/doc/tetex* should reflect the whole set of software
> > distributed as teTeX. I just asked the question because when I proposed
> > to change TIPA's copyright to GPL, the author opposed it to the
> > "copyright notice made by Knuth". If TeX is really GPL, it is even
> > better, and I will tell that to the author.
> AFAIK, Knuth owns the copyright to all standard TeX fonts and files like
> plain.tex. One of the restriction he imposes is that if one modifies the files
> he/she should make it clear and change the name. I guess, this part is not
> GPL. I've seen the reference to this somewhere on his home page
> (http://http://www-cs-staff.stanford.edu/~uno/index.html), but I couldn't find
> it today. It was his very frustrated response to inclusion of wrong cmr fonts
> with NTeX.
I've just found it on my local harddrive. Looks like the copyright is
published in ``Computers & Typesettin, Volume E''. Should be available in the
library. I'll include the complete message, since it can be of some interest.
--- Shurik.
> Important Message to all Users of TeX
>
> Two font problems have arisen that need to be corrected before they get even
> worse. One is a serious font incompatibility problem; the other is an
> aesthetic problem of obsolete designs. Both concern only the Computer Modern
> font family. I'm counting on the traditional goodwill of TeX users
> everywhere to help resolve these problems.
>
> The Slackware Linux Distribution Has Bad Fonts
>
> Somebody made unauthorized changes to the Computer Modern source files in
> 1994 (i.e., to the METAFONT programs that define the Computer Modern fonts),
> in direct violation of my stipulation on the copyright page of Computers &
> Typesetting, Volume E.
>
> As a result, these fonts produce quite different results on different
> computer systems, and they will also cause TeX to typeset your old papers
> with different line breaks, page breaks, overfull boxes, etc. Unfortunately,
> the unauthorized files somehow got substituted for the correct ones --- I'm
> not sure when. But I am sure angry!
>
> Another person has changed the shapes of the apostrophe and reverse
> apostrophe in the Computer Modern Typewriter fonts, against my wishes.
> Instead of naming him here, I ask him to retract his work as soon as
> possible.
>
> Dear friends, I decided to put these fonts into the public domain rather
> than to make them proprietary; all I have asked is that nobody change them,
> UNLESS THE NAME IS CHANGED, so that every user can obtain equivalent results
> on all computer systems, now and 50 years from now. I went to enormous
> efforts to make TeX and METAFONT systems equivalent on hundreds of different
> computers, and to make them archival as no commercial software has ever
> been. For many years I have been careful not to make any font changes that
> would alter TeX's typesetting behavior. If you want to improve the fonts, go
> ahead, but DON'T GIVE YOUR FONTS THE SAME NAME AS MINE. I insist that every
> font named cmr10 have the same font metrics, so that TeX will choose exactly
> the same line breaks and page breaks on every computer system in the world.
> This compatibility must be enforced by peer pressure (boycotts, bad
> publicity, etc.), to anybody who breaks the rules. The TeX Users Group is
> now deciding how best to condemn this action and to keep the cancer from
> infecting too many systems.
>
> The volunteer who helped me discover why my TeX was different from his tells
> me that he got the adulterated font files from an InfoMagic 4CD set dated
> March 1995.
>
> Look, I number the Linux folks among my personal heroes; I don't want to
> campaign against their fine work. They undoubtedly picked up these bad font
> files from somewhere in all innocence. But now the community must quickly
> get the word out that the CM fonts distributed with Linux since spring 1995
> (at least) are grievously corrupted. The incompatible fonts must be banished
> from all computer systems that hope to be compatible with legitimate
> installations of TeX.
>
> As far as we know, the distribution of these damaged font files has been
> confined to the so-called NTeX distribution, which went out with Slackware
> Linux. Thomas Esser's teTeX distribution, also widely used with Linux, does
> not have this problem, nor does the TeX Live CDROM. The directory on CTAN
> that contained the variant files was removed in July 1996.
>
> How to Tell If Your Fonts Are Corrupted
>
> Type the following simple instructions to TeX, after the ** prompt:
>
> \setbox 0 = \hbox{ho} \showbox 0
>
> Then type x to the ? prompt. If TeX replies that \box0 is an \hbox of width
> 10.55559, you're in good shape; \relax! But if TeX replies that \box0 has
> width 10.31947, I'm sorry to say that you've got a big problem. In that case
> TeX will also show you a \kern between the h and the o.
>
> The source of the errors can be traced to three illegitimate font files.
> Please get your system administrator to replace the files you have by the
> officially correct ones that you can find here:
>
> * roman.mf
> * romlig.mf
> * punct.mf
>
> Several other files in the Slackware distribution are slightly out of date
> with respect to the official sources in directory ~ftp/pub/tex/cm at
> labrea.stanford.edu, but replacing the three files above AND REMAKING ALL
> THE FONTS will cure all the serious problems. (Actually you don't need to
> remake any bitmaps, except for the typewriter-style fonts cmtt* and cmtex*;
> all you need otherwise is to remake the font metric files, namely the files
> with suffix ".tfm". You also need to remake the ".fmt" files that TeX uses
> at the start of a job, because these contain preloaded font information.)
>
> What do I do if I'm my own system administrator?
>
> Craig Silverstein has written a script that does all the right things, on at
> least one Linux box. Here is Craig's script. (If you have problems, here
> also is Craig's email address.) Good luck!
>
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