On Sunday 11 August 2002 09:11 am, Bruce Dodson wrote: > Although open source development isn't done in an emergency situation, it > is done by many whose only goal is to help people, and who don't ask any > compensation other than a nod of recognition.
There is a very good reason why the various "good samaritan" laws specify acts performed during emergency and/or urgent situations only. Liability, as I understand it, is unconcerned with the actor's motivation, but only with the results of the action. Good Samaritan laws are exceptions to the rules for exceptional circumstances. There are some good reasons for limiting liability for Open Source software. But the goal of helping people is not one of them. The good samaritan laws are bandages on a system that is slowly but surely being broken through abuse. We don't need more bandages, we need correct the underlying problems. -- David Johnson ___________________ http://www.usermode.org pgp public key on website -- license-discuss archive is at http://crynwr.com/cgi-bin/ezmlm-cgi?3
