On Thu, Dec 12, 2002 at 02:58:14PM -0800, Thomas Bushnell, BSG wrote: > Jim Penny <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > > > 1) it appears not to allow modification of the file. The only > > operation permitted is "extraction". > > Both Sam Hartman and I agreed that while modification might not be > permitted, distribution of patch files for the purpose of effective > modification *is* easily possible for any program that reads the > file. So this is not a problem for distributing the verbatim file in > Debian. > > > 2) while "extraction" is permitted, no explicit right to redistribute > > the extracted (derived) information is granted. > > You can *use* the extracted information in "documentation or > programs", and I think in context it's clear that this use is intended > to allow even Microsoft to distribute the program without license, and > certainly therefore a free program. > > > Note: I have no interest in whether DSFG compatible programs can be > > created using this data. Clearly, they can. Is a file under this > > license, or a file mechanically derived from such a file DSFG free? > > In the case of the Unicode data file, yes. There is no need to decide > such a question in a hypothetical case. > > Thomas >
So, does that not make qmail free? There is no problem in distributing the unchanged tarball, and we are, after all, simply distributing a patchset that modifies it to support FHS. More and More Puzzledly Yours. Jim Penny