Re: Is AGPLv3 DFSG-free?
On Wed, 03 Sep 2008, Arc Riley wrote:
> The AGPLv3 only requires the distribution of /modified/ source.
The things that Debian distributes which are not modified are
vanishingly small (and all of the examples I can think of are cases
where Debian Developers are the upstream too.) So we're going to be
discussing things which are modified in all cases.
> If Debian distributes their packaged version, and that version is
> served by a 3rd party for other users unmodified, that 3rd party is
> not bound by the distribution terms of section 13.
If this is actually the proper interpretation, then it renders the
AGPL useless in its entirety.
In short, this is the idea that section 13 only applies at the time of
modification, and so long as the propagation of source works at that
instant, everything is good.
It's an interesting theory, and probably one that should be run by the
FSF, since I'm certain it was not the intent of the drafters at all.
> Further, I do not read in the license that distribution of source
> *must* happen when the application is used. You have to make it
> available on a remote server, that is all. That server goes down,
A server which is down does not "provid[e] access to the Corresponding
Source".
> yes it's a problem you need to solve, but it's not like the lawyers
> come out.
If it's not being made available, you're in violation of the AGPL, and
are subject to the terms of Section 8. If it's your first time, you
have a 30 day grace period to cure the breech, but the second time can
be fatal.
So yes, the lawyers can come out and play immediately if they wish.
Don Armstrong
--
I leave the show floor, but not before a pack of caffeinated Jolt gum
is thrust at me by a hyperactive girl screaming, "Chew more! Do more!"
The American will to consume more and produce more personified in a
stick of gum. I grab it.
-- Chad Dickerson
http://www.donarmstrong.com http://rzlab.ucr.edu
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