Comments below. -- Bhaskar
On Tue, 2004-11-16 at 20:54, Joel West wrote: [KSB] <...snip...> > * do you want a "viral" term or not, i.e. one that requires changes to > be given back (GPL) or not (BSD, Apache) > * do you want the "viral" clause to apply to new versions of the code > (as say the LGPL or the MPL, or anything with which it is combined > (the GPL). [KSB] In view of prior discussion on the possible negative connotation of "viral", perhaps we should use - and promote - the term "virile"... ... > The main reason to choose a viral license (e.g. GPL) is to prevent > "forking", but most people don't realize that forking is more than > just a licensing issue -- it's also a source code management issue. [KSB] I agree that forking is a bigger issue than license virility. But license virility is a bigger issue than forking - there is the basic issue of whether or not the software author considers it acceptable for others to profit from his/her work without giving back to the community. Also, as Roger pointed out, there are people who may be unwilling to receive and use GPL'd code (although, at least in the case of Linux, this does not appear to have stopped people from using it). I am sure there are other considerations as well. > On the one hand, there are cases (like Linux) where the code is > required to be returned but it is not being merged because the people > running the code tree don't want/need it. On the other hand, many > firms give back changes even when not required (as some VistA vendors > did this year to the VA) because they don't want the hassle of merging > changes. > > Finally, as Steve McPhelan points out, slapping the GPL is meaningless > on a FOIA release because people who care will just get a new copy via > FOIA without the GPL restrictions. [KSB] You wouldn't even need to go back to a FOIA release if the GPL were slapped on the same material. The copyright would not be valid, and there is no need to even pay lip service an invalid copyright. > And you'd have to waive the GPL if you gave the code back to the VA > since they wouldn't release VistA to the world with new copyright > restrictions. [KSB] This isn't completely clear to me, since there is the precedent of the National Security Agency with SELinux. It seems to me that the VA today doesn't want anything from the outside VistA community, and licensing is not the issue. > So any assignment agreement would have to include rights to release > it without the GPL. > > So the WorldVistA license issue is more over new code. Some licenses > might guarantee that the code remains "free" but might discourage > commercial firms from supplying resources to help develop the code. [KSB] That is up to each firm to decide what is right for itself. It's a free country, and there is no coercion. By the way, there is a quick overview of several open source free software licenses at http://www.croftsoft.com/library/tutorials/opensource/ *************************************************************************** This electronic mail transmission contains confidential and/or privileged information intended only for the person(s) named. Any use, distribution, copying or disclosure by another person is strictly prohibited. *************************************************************************** NOTE: Ce courriel est destine exclusivement au(x) destinataire(s) mentionne(s) ci-dessus et peut contenir de l'information privilegiee, confidentielle et/ou dispensee de divulgation aux termes des lois applicables. Si vous avez recu ce message par erreur, ou s'il ne vous est pas destine, veuillez le mentionner immediatement a l'expediteur et effacer ce courriel. ------------------------------------------------------- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: InterSystems CACHE FREE OODBMS DOWNLOAD - A multidimensional database that combines robust object and relational technologies, making it a perfect match for Java, C++,COM, XML, ODBC and JDBC. www.intersystems.com/match8 _______________________________________________ Hardhats-members mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members
