Re: One unclear point in the Vim license

[Bram Moolenaar <Bram@moolenaar.net>]

Thomas Bushnell wrote:

> Bram Moolenaar <Bram@moolenaar.net> writes:
> 
> > It is allowed to distribute a modified version of Vim, with
> > executables and/or source code, when the following conditions are
> > met.  If you distribute a modified version of Vim, you are
> > encouraged to make it available to the maintainer, including the
> > source code.  When the maintainer asks (in any way) for a copy of
> > the modified version you distributed, you must make your changes,
> > including source code, available to him.  The preferred way to do
> > this is by e-mail or by uploading the files to a server and
> > e-mailing the URL.  If the number of changes is small (e.g., a
> > modified Makefile) e-mailing the diffs will do.  The e-mail address
> > to be used is <maintainer@vim.org>
> 
> This is still no good.  You might not have a copy anymore of the
> modified version that you distributed.

If this is so, then there are these possibilities:

- Nobody has a copy of this modified version.  Then it doesn't exist
  and the license doesn't apply.

- Someone still has a copy.  Then the person that made the changes
  should be able to retrieve it and send the maintainer a copy.

- Someone still has a copy of the executable but not the sources.
  That's annoying, the person making the changes is responsible for this
  not happening.

- The person who did the changes doesn't know who still has a copy.
  That's unlikely to happen, since the maintainer apparently was able to
  locate the mofified copy.

- The person who did the changes has died.  No idea what happens then,
  hopefully we will never encounter this situation.

I explicitly want to keep the person who makes the changes responsible
for being able to send me these changes.  I don't want end-users to
become responsible for this (they might not even know about the changes).

Also note that when this would really happen, there is no actual penalty
that can be applied to the person who did the changes, since no damage
was done.

-- 
Linux is just like a wigwam: no Windows, no Gates and an Apache inside.

 ///  Bram Moolenaar -- Bram@moolenaar.net -- http://www.moolenaar.net  \\\
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