On 8/25/13 5:08 AM, "Ralph Corderoy" <[email protected]> wrote:
> >> I also think rxrz's actions in this matter were deplorable and >> incorrect, mostly because rxrz's actions made it *more difficult* than >> it would have been to resolve the matter to a good resolution. > >It's annoying that rxrz slapped a GNU GPL licence on code that wasn't >his. Kind of sullies the GPL by association. I agree, Ralph, although, I'm not sure it so much sullies the reputation of the GPL specifically, so much as Free Software and developers generally, by creating an impression of a rogue developer with no regard for the very law that provides the framework to protect free software and effect such licenses as GPL. Of course, not all free software developers are heroes either, but such a public and negative impression can often get imputed broadly. I find it especially disappointing that Wired magazine's piece called this person "Robin Hood" and then allowed the person to be quoted in Wired's article without verifying identity. I would characterize the former as sensationalism in the wrong direction and the latter as simply poor journalism. *sigh* > The repo still sits at >github, along with its many fork-descendants. Github, understanding >what he's done, still say that they will only remove them at the request >of the copyright holder, and requested that they be contacted to file a >DMCA take-down; http://help.github.com/dmca-takedown. Would there be >someone at Samsung interested in doing this to tidy things up rather >than leave a not-properly-released "GPL'd" version detracting from the >pucker source? Presumably github zap all the descendants given the root >repo. I can't blame GitHub for taking this stance - it would not be wise of them to take down something without going through the proper procedures under the DMCA, as that could set a dangerous precedent and impression for their customers (even if this seems like a clear cut case of wrong-doing). Remains to be seen whether Samsung will file the request, so we shall "stay tuned"! Jilayne >
