Re: Bug#316487: debian-installer-manual: Missing copyright credit: Karsten M. Self for section C.4
Quoting Karsten M. Self (kmself@ix.netcom.com):
> Package: debian-installer-manual
> Severity: serious
> Justification: Policy 2.3
(no legal nitpicking in the following, just common sense)
Please note for further reference that each and every line, paragraph,
documentation, translation, line of code, web page I have personnally
ever contributed to any free software project does not need any
special attribution, license or whatever to be re-used.
This is true for all my contributions in free software in the last 13
years as well as any other contribution I could have made since
January 1981 (IIRC the first time I ever hit a computer keyboard).
In short, anyone is free to re-use any material I have ever
contributed in free software projects as long as the general license
of these projects are respected. And I don't care about my bloody name
to be mentioned or not.
Sometimes I wish that free software contributors forget about legal
nitpicking and licenses/copyright headaches to just concentrate on
coding. I know this won't happen and I know this won't make you change
your mind. Just another point of view.
This thread is probably started for days and will eat the time of
dozens of developers, especially Joey Hess who I consider as the major
architect of the technical success of the Debian Installer. This, just
to solve your concerns about your work not being "properly"
attributed, according to your own reference system.
This will probably trigger other such requests because it is highly
probable that you are legally perfectly entitled to this.
This is so great. Joey, and probably Frans Pop, who is in charge of
the installer manual, will have to spend a lot of valuable hours to
track down and solve such issues. Maybe even far more than the time
saved by including your work in the installer manual.
So, just think about this : have you *really* contributed to this
software project?
You will probably try to convince me that you're right. You don't need
to. You *are* technically right. In my reference system, you are not
morally right.
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