Re: GR proposal: the AGPL does not meet the DFSG (take 2)
On Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 11:07:12PM +0000, David Claughton wrote:
[...]
> It is always possible to modify free software in ways that effectively
> make it non-free - for example if you remove all the copyright
> statements from a BSD covered program.
[...]
This is untrue, at least for modern 3-clause BSD[*] and its
derivatives. I can remove the copyright statements from any
BSD-licensed software I like, as long as I don't *redistribute* it
in that form. By my reading, licenses like BSD or (classic) GPL
place no restrictions on use, even of modified versions. The AGPL
goes a great deal further than this, by *requiring* you to become a
distributor of software you use, even if you only do something so
simple as make a minor modification to an AGPL-covered work
providing a network service.
[* And even the old advertising clause, generally deemed
DFSG-compliant, only adds restrictions on what you have to include
in your advertising materials *if* you choose to have any--you can
still choose not to have advertising materials for a derivative
work of classic BSD software.]
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