On Wed, Sep 5, 2012 at 9:32 AM, James Turner wrote: > On 5 Sep 2012, at 09:06, Stuart Buchanan wrote: >> As this comes up on a monthly basis, perhaps we need an FAQ explaining >> why changing the license is a bad idea, has no support from the core >> developers, isn't practical, and won't make any difference anyway? > > +1
I've created a wiki page collecting the reasons for not changing the license in the following (protected) wiki article: http://wiki.flightgear.org/Changing_the_FlightGear_License I've also included the text below for comment. I don't expect everyone to agree with every statement, but hopefully I've captured the main reasons why the majority of contributors on this list believe that FG should remain GPL. Please let me know of any omissions. Note that I have explicitly not addressed the legality or not of FPS et al. I think that is sufficiently covered in our existing FAQ on the matter: http://www.flightgear.org/flightprosim.html Hopefully we will be able to point future posters on this issue to the wiki and avoid having to respond every couple of months. -Stuart The subject of changing the FlightGear license to a non-commercial one comes up on a regular basis on the -devel list, typically with a wish to stop the use of FlightGear by FlightProSim etc. This page sets out the main reasons why the core FlightGear developers do not intend to change the license, based on the views of long-time contributors to the source code expressed on the list. While individual contributors may disagree on particular points, it represents the overall view of the core contributors. Those wishing to propose a license change are encouraged to read this instead of posting to the -devel list. - Philosophically. The freedom to use FlightGear commercially is a key freedom provided by the GPL. Removing that freedom makes FlightGear less free, and would discourage contribution from current developers who particularly value freedom. - Commercial Contribution/Use. Some contributions are the direct result of commercial use of FlightGear, and some current contributors are paid for their FlightGear work, directly or indirectly. Moving to a non-commercial license would immediately impact these contributions. - Distribution. FlightGear is packaged in a number of Linux distributions. Changing to a less free license would stop it from being distributed in this way and reduce its reach. - Practicality. Changing the license would require agreement from everyone who has ever contributed to FlightGear. Given the age of the project (15 years) and huge number of contributors (some of whom have sadly passed away), this isn't practical. - Effectiveness. Re-distributors/forkers such as FlightProSim have so far shown no interest in keeping up with the latest FlightGear version, and any license change would not impact their use of back-level software. It is therefore unlikely that any license change would have an impact. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Live Security Virtual Conference Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/ _______________________________________________ Flightgear-devel mailing list Flightgear-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/flightgear-devel
