Riley Baird <bm-2cvqnduybau5do2dfjtrn7zbaj246s4...@bitmessage.ch>
writes:

> I have no idea how to interpret the below license:
>
> This file file be copied and used freely without restrictions.

Permission to copy is good to receive. But that grants no permission to
modify, nor to redistribute; so this grant lacks DFSG-required
permissions.

Permission to “use” is so vague as to be useless for determining what is
actually permitted.

> It can be used in projects which are not available under the GNU
> Public License but which still want to provide support for the GNU
> gettext functionality.

The term “GNU Public License” doesn't refer to any particular license,
so it's not clear what is intended; are we to re-word the permission
statement because it seems they mean “GNU General Public License”?

We also have no guidance on what permission to “use” means.

> Please note that the actual code is *not* freely available.

No clue what the author means by this. If the file itself is not “the
actual code”, what could it mean? On the other hand if the file *is*
“the actual code”, the author seems to here be revoking any
free-software license.

> I found this license while I was writing the d/copyright for the
> "granule" package[1], but it's also in the gtk+2.0 package[2].

I would advise you to contact the copyright holder to ask for a
clarified grant of license, addressing the concerns for what specific
permissions are granted and what specific restrictions are intended.

According to the file, copyright is held only by Ulrich Drepper, but
before contacting them I first advise you to research that person's
interactions with the free software community and judge what approach
might work best.

Good hunting!

-- 
 \       “Probably the toughest time in anyone's life is when you have |
  `\    to murder a loved one because they're the devil.” —Emo Philips |
_o__)                                                                  |
Ben Finney


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