Re: Unsure If Array 30 Chinese Input Method is DFSG Free or Not.
Yao Wei (魏銘廷) <mwei@lxde.org>
> I want to confirm if the license below is DFSG free or not:
> http://www.array.com.tw/company/array_license.pdf
>
> The most suspicious part is:
> When any derived and related work of Array Input Method is released to
> public, the licensee must inform the original author of Array Input
> Method within one month by sending an e-mail to:
> array30@ms10.hinet.net with the subject: "Informing: Array Input
> Method".
The freedom to share one's changes freely under the same terms as the
original is essential (DFSG 1+3), so that "must" looks to me like a
fairly classic case of postcardware. I don't believe that has ever
been regarded as acceptable under DFSG. See, for example,
http://people.debian.org/~bap/dfsg-faq.html#weird_clauses and
http://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2002/01/msg00010.html
> There was a chat in #debian-mentors which claims it has discrimination
> on users who don't use email. I've found it may not pass dissident
> test (the user must send an email to the original author, thus
> dissident may expose its email). However, I am wondering if the
> "desert island" test is not a *public* environment. IMHO, it is not
> necessary to inform the author in that environment in that extreme
> case.
I have no way of knowing if the original licensor would agree with
that, but regardless of the tests, I feel that this software does not
appear to meet DFSGs 1 and 3.
I second the suggestion of Paul Wise: asking for a well-known free
software licence would be worthwhile.
Thanks,
--
MJ Ray (slef), member of www.software.coop, a for-more-than-profit co-op.
http://koha-community.org supporter, web and library systems developer.
In My Opinion Only: see http://mjr.towers.org.uk/email.html
Available for hire (including development) at http://www.software.coop/
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