Re: EULAs and the DFSG
On Thu, Dec 05, 2002 at 02:09:08AM +0100, Jakob Bohm wrote:
> (Note that this message is required by GPL clause 2c).
> (admitted, I added the Click lines myself for clarity, but the important
> thing is GPL 2c and the first four lines).
The GPL's requirement is that it be displayed; it doesn't require that
it be acknowledged, which is what click-wrap licenses do. So, I could
safely remove the interaction, and simply display the blurb and move on.
I believe a restriction that said "you *must* make the user agree to this
license when the program starts" would be DFSG-unfree; it's a restriction
on modification.
Also, I believe it's safe to add an option to programs to disable displaying
the GPL blurbs, since it only requires it be displayed when started in "the
most ordinary way"--which I read as "by default". Personally, that's one
clauses I in the GPL I dislike--I don't want programs spamming me with the
GPL blurb every time they start, and I wish there was some common environment
variable like "NO_GPL_BLURB" to disable it globally instead of having to do
it in each individual program ...
Hmm. Out of curiosity, what makes the requirement that the license/no
warranty blurb in the GPL not be removed (2c) DFSG-free? It also seems like
a modification restriction. (Ignoring the "grandfather clause" interpretation
of DFSG #10, since that wouldn't help, for example, the LGPL.) Would it
still be DFSG-free without the "in the most ordinary way" qualification?
--
Glenn Maynard
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