Whether it violates the GPL is a matter for discussion. IMHO, it's skirting pretty close to the line. I didn't see any notice of the GPL or some of the finer points of it, in the offering. I believe that should be plainly visible. More concerning to me is that the offering is misleading, and from my reading may violate some of eBay's policies. I find this kind of thing distasteful, but more importantly it seems to be preying on unsuspecting buyers.
I would recommend that eBay be notified and let them decide if it violates their own policies. Their ruling may preclude the need for an immediate response from the FlightGear developer community. Jon > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of > Chris Metzler > Sent: Thursday, November 16, 2006 11:37 PM > To: flightgear-devel@lists.sourceforge.net > Subject: Re: [Flightgear-devel] GPL Violation? > > > On Thu, 16 Nov 2006 22:02:22 -0600 > Curtis Olson wrote: > > > > So my questions: > > > > 1. Am I right to be concerned about this? > > I dunno -- that's a personal question. But . . . > > > > 2. Is there any outright GPL violation going on here? > > . . .this is the real question, and my answer is "I don't see anything > in this advert/auction that clearly indicates there's a GPL violation > going on. > > I don't know of any reason why they can't charge for a download. The > GPL certainly allows it -- it says "any medium", and not "any *physical* > medium.". The Kompany makes some of its money that way. > > However, it's definitely "distributing" flightgear, which means they > have to make source available -- either 1) accompanying the object code, > 2) in the form of a standing (for at least 3 years) written offer to > provide source code on physical media, for which they can charge no more > than the cost of duplication and shipping, or 3) pointing the user at > how *they* got source code -- the latter only allowed for noncommercial > distribution, which doesn't seem to apply here. > > Also, the GPL has to accompany it, and they can't put any additional > constraints on the people that download it from them, beyond those of > the GPL. > > -c > > > -- > Chris Metzler [EMAIL PROTECTED] > (remove "snip-me." to email) > > "As a child I understood how to give; I have forgotten this grace since I > have become civilized." - Chief Luther Standing Bear > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Take Surveys. Earn Cash. Influence the Future of IT Join SourceForge.net's Techsay panel and you'll get the chance to share your opinions on IT & business topics through brief surveys - and earn cash http://www.techsay.com/default.php?page=join.php&p=sourceforge&CID=DEVDEV _______________________________________________ Flightgear-devel mailing list Flightgear-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/flightgear-devel
