Re: GnuTLS in Debian
Steve Langasek <vorlon@debian.org> writes:
> I think you've managed to invert my point here, actually, which was that
> when someone licenses their work under *the GPL*, we should respect
> their wishes - even though it would make our lives a lot easier to be
> able to ship binaries linked against OpenSSL.
Which means that we should go ahead and link with OpenSSL code from
upstreams whose software is released under the GPL and who have declined
to add an exception clause because they think our request for an exception
clause is idiotic and they refuse to play along with what they consider to
be ridiculous legal interpretations?
I know at least one such upstream and I suspect there are lots more.
There's a lot of software written under the GPL that explicitly and
intentionally supports being linked with OpenSSL, and I have a hard time
believing we're doing something somehow more ethical by declining to do
so.
Incidentally, one of the problem packages, Git, also has the same problem
with relicensing: there are lots of copyright holders, and therefore no
easy mechanism to add a license exception.
--
Russ Allbery (rra@debian.org) <http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/>
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