Re: dpkg/license related proposal
On 01-Nov-99, 15:04 (CST), Amy Fong <uwd38znr@umail.furryterror.org> wrote:
> In an ideal world I could sort of agree with you. But we're
> currently in a situation where lots of companies are jumping onto the
> Linux bandwagan and many of these folks are totally (fill in the blanks)
> with the GPL and they end up violating things left right and center.
> People who don't know anything about open source are trying out Linux
> and all sorts of things can happen.
So because a few companies have screwed up (and almost always
admitted/corrected), you want to inflict this on all our users, 99% of
whom won't be affected? The screwups have happened (I think) because
the laywers got called in at the last minute and stuffed the standard
corporate license on the package, without talking to anyone. Big uproar,
public embarassment, licenses get fixed, and the world moves on. A few
more of these, and the companies will get their act together before they
release ('cause the developers will know that they need to bring up the
license issue early so they don't look like idiots).
Note that I'm not talking about deliberate attempts to circumvent free
software goals while still looking like a free license (see Sun, and
maybe Apple). (Not that Sun and Apple aren't free to license their stuff
however they damn well please. Just don't lie about it.)
Steve
--
Steve Greenland <vmole@swbell.net>
(Please do not CC me on mail sent to this list; I subscribe to and read
every list I post to.)
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