On Saturday 24 Oct 2009, Nicolas Quijano wrote: [snip...] > Really, really misguided, and it showcases a prevalent > undercurrent with some of our members, who think the GPL means > something else than it really does [...]
I think this really sums up the issue here. The GPL isn't there to protect any supposed rights of the developers but to ensure the 'freedom' of the software: this is the point of the GPL. The GPL is not concerned with the use of the work but with its distribution and it is addressed to the _receivers_ of software, not the developers or distributors (obviously, the developer has not received the work, as they are the originator, and a distributor must first receive the work before they can distribute it). Once someone releases something under the GPL they have given up ownership of the work (but not the copyright of their personal work) and from that point have no 'rights' to dictate how or where it's used. (copyright only deals with how others may copy and further redistribute the work, and not with who 'owns' the work. As anyone may modify the work as they like, use it as they wish and cannot dictate conditions concerning modification or use upon others, the work is effectively ownerless) The restrictions upon redistribution are not there to enforce any developer rights because there are none, but to ensure that if another developer builds upon the work of others, and then wishes to further redistribute it, they cannot add further restrictions to a work that is not solely their's to restrict; part of their redistributed work was created by someone else who has already set the restrictions, as specified by the GPL. Ultimately, I think it needs to be remembered that the point of developing FG is to make a flight simulator and not to act as some form of ethical copyright police force. The fact is though, that an awful lot of energy and emotion has been spent here on this list, and for all I know, in the forums and irc too, and it's all energy that could have gone into more productive work instead. If individuals want to spend their time bounty-hunting (although there's no ca$h bounty, of course) then they're welcome to do so, but this should not be a concern of the FG project. The only time that this issue should concern the FG project is when someone tries to stop or limit the redistribution of the FG project's work. If someone wants to enforce conditions of use upon their work, or conditions beyond what GPL allows, then they _cannot_ use the GPL. Some people really need to get their heads around this, so to reiterate: if you're not prepared to give up complete ownership of your work, then don't release it under the GPL. FlightProSim, or FlighSimtPro, or ProFLightSim, or SimFlightPro, or whoever are perfectly entitled to take FG, call it what they like and then sell it, as long as they make the source code available for any parts of it that are covered by the GPL, including any work they've done that is based upon the GPL'd code. If they also distribute another bit of software along with their modified version of FG, then provided that it is wholly theirs and is not built upon any GPL'd work, they can impose whatever conditions they like. It is not a violation of the GPL to distribute non-GPL'd software along with GPL'd software, but while they can impose restrictions upon their software, those restrictions cannot and will not apply to the GPL'd content. LeeE ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference _______________________________________________ Flightgear-devel mailing list Flightgear-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/flightgear-devel
