Re: draft for new Vim license

[Bram Moolenaar <Bram@moolenaar.net>]

Henning Makholm wrote:

> Scripsit Bram Moolenaar <Bram@moolenaar.net>
> > Thomas Bushnell wrote:
> 
> > > Ah yes, I missed that last part.  So it does seem to me that it is not
> > > GPL compatible, as long as it wants to reserve the right to include
> > > changes in future vim distributions, which themselves might be
> > > released under nonfree terms.
> 
> > But so long as changes are only included using the Vim license, would
> > there be any problem?
> 
> From Vim's point of view, the entire GPL'ed code constitute an
> addition (a special case of a "change"), so it is all subject to the
> conditions you apply to changes.

Yes.  Thus if you add code and put it under the GPL, then the GPL would
apply to the whole (if I understand the GPL correctly).  So the question
is if this would cause a conflict with the Vim license, which would
prohibit you from distributing this version.  I don't know the GPL well
enough to judge about this.

> If you want to exempt, say, the addition of library code from your
> conditions on modifications in general, you need to add language
> in the license text that says so explicitly. (And doing so may not
> be a trivial task if you do not want to introduce loopholes that
> allow people to disguise essential part of their contributions as
> undisclosed library code).

Compiling Vim with libraries is not considered changing Vim.  This falls
under the first item, generating an executable from an unmodified Vim.
Only when you would add a library and call a function in it, you would
be modifying Vim.  So you could play tricks by adding a library that
replaces a tactical function, which is called without changing Vim.
Well, good luck with this unmodified version of Vim! :-)

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