On Mon, 2009-12-14 at 21:30 +0000, Stuart Buchanan wrote:
Being really really picky with English, the opening statement uses the word "heavily" too often; it's not good style. As a suggestion of replacement, perhaps; As many people will be aware, there is a new flight simulator product that is being heavily marketed at the moment - Flight Pro Sim. As it is almost entirely based on FlightGear, there is some confusion between the two. To help provide some clarity, and answer some common questions, we (the core FlightGear development team) felt it was appropriate to make a statement, and provide a FAQ. "almost entirely" leaves an impression that there is little difference, while not making a binding statement that we may not be able to substantiate.. And in the next paragraph; It has been developed with the collaboration of a large number of individuals for the last 12 years. though I feel "over the Internet" could almost be left out, it really isn't important how we collaborate, the number and length of time are the important bits here. Given the similarities between Flight Pro Sim and FlightGear, the word "extreme" feels like it is trying to pull emotional strings here, it could be removed without changing to meaning of the sentence. Viewing this statement in to the future, how does it feel if a legitimate commercial contributor crops up, is there anything here that would deter or prevent an engaged contributor from working with the project? I think by restating the GPL principles it has left open a contributor we would be happy to work with. S. > > FlightGear Flight Pro Sim Statement (v1.1): > > As many people will be > aware, there is a new flight simulator product that is being heavily > marketed at the moment - Flight Pro Sim. > As it is very heavily based > on FlightGear, there is some confusion between the two. To help provide > some clarity, and answer some > common questions, we (the core FlightGear development team) felt it was > appropriate to make a statement, and provide a FAQ. > > FlightGear is a open-source flight simulator that was started in 1996. It is > released under > the GNU General Public License v2, and as such, it is free to use, modify and > develop with few restrictions. It has been > developed with the collaboration of a large number of individuals over the > internet over the last 12 years. FlightGear can > be downloaded at not cost from http://www.flightgear.org. > > Flight > Pro Sim is a commercial product very heavily based on FlightGear. > Investigation by a number of the FlightGear developers has > found no difference between this and the FlightGear v1.9.1 release other than > a change of name. Flight Pro Sim > is in no way endorsed or supported by the core FlightGear development team. > > Given the extreme similarities between Flight Pro Sim and FlightGear, we > would recommend that prospective buyers download > FlightGear for free and satisfy themselves that Flight Pro Sim provides > worthwhile value for money before purchasing it. > > FAQ: > > Q: What is the difference between FlightGear and Flight Pro Sim? > A: As far as we have been able to make out, the only difference between > FlightGear v1.9.1 and Flight Pro Sim is a change in > name throughout the software, and the fact that you have to pay for it. > > Q: Is it legal for the makers of Flight Pro Sim to simply re-brand FlightGear > ? > A: Yes. Under the GNU GPL v2 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html), this > is legal, provided that they distribute the > source code (or make it available). > > Q: Is is legal to sell a copy of FlightGear, whether re-branded or not ? > A: > Yes. Technically, the purchaser is paying for the distribution of the > software, and it reasonable to charge a fee for this. In > fact, those > interested in receiving a DVD containing FlightGear may do so through > the main FlightGear website, and directly contribute > to the project (though they may want to wait for the upcoming release in the > new year). > > Q: Has Flight Pro Sim paid any money to FlightGear for the rights to the > program ? > A: No. No such payment is required, as FlightGear is open-source software. > > Q: Is there any relationship between the makers of Flight Pro Sim and > FlightGear? > A: Not that we are aware of. As far as we are aware, the makers of Flight Pro > Sim are not FlightGear developers. > > Q: Has Flight Pro Sim contributed to the FlightGear project at all ? > A: > There is no evidence that the makers of Flight Pro Sim have contributed > to the FlightGear project, either through code or money. They did offer > to provide money ($250) for a monthly competition, but this offer has > not been taken up. > > Q: I have purchased Flight Pro Sim. Can I get a refund ? > A: > That is something you will have to take up with the makers of Flight > Pro Sim. We understand they offer a 60 day money-back guarantee. > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Return on Information: > Google Enterprise Search pays you back > Get the facts. > http://p.sf.net/sfu/google-dev2dev > _______________________________________________ > Flightgear-devel mailing list > Flightgear-devel@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/flightgear-devel ********************************************************************** This message is intended for the addressee named and may contain privileged information or confidential information or both. 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