Re: [PROPOSAL] Full text of GPL must be included
> Programs on ftp sites are distributed over the net, they are not
> distributed over (on) ftp sites. IMHO the question is what medium
> is the work transported over/through during the copying from one
> person/computer to another, not what media the work is stored on
> before the copying.
Answer the following question: where did user X get a copy of package A?
Replying "over the net" does not sufficiently specify the package's
origin. Replying "from the Debian ftp site" or "from a Cheap-Bytes CD"
does.
Therefore, I would say that the ftp site or the CD is the means of
distribution.
> > if a file is found in a directory tree, the directory tree also
> > contains another file with the GPL.
>
> I don't think a directory qualifies as a medium.
>
> >From WordNet (r) 1.6 [wn]:
>
> medium
> [...]
> 3: an intervening substance through which signals can travel as
> a means for communication
> [...]
> CD-ROM yes, net yes, directory no.
You're splitting hairs, but if you want to play this game, I'll follow.
Notice that a CD-ROM does not satisfy the definition that you cited.
Signals do not "travel through" a CD-ROM. In the case of publishing
software, I would suggest that the first definition (which you omitted)
provides a better fit: "a means or instrumentality for communicating"
(i.e., sharing information).
> > Many (if not most) copylefted C source files contain such a notice
> > as a comment in the header and therefore satisfy the definition.
> > Since such a file can be considered a "downloadable entity"
> > (certainly any file can be downloaded by itself), then by what you
> > have said above, each file must "have the GPL inside it."
>
> Right, _if_ each file is available separately for download.
Which is precisely the case for any CVS server. Nevertheless, I don't
believe that the vast amount of GPLed software distributed by such means
are in violation of either the spirit or the letter of the GPL.
- Brian
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