> compilation and debugging, and was > surprised to see very little support for the triple > license in place. This is very late in the day > given Mozilla 1.0 is just a breath away from general > release.
Although we had hoped to get all the changes in for 1.0, it seems it's not to be. It's a lot of work tracking down and getting permissions from over 400 people and companies. > Even the JSEng (JavaScript Engine) which has > long been noted as effectively 'LGPLed' is very > out of date in its license statements. (see > js/Makefile). If you follow the instructions in > the header and surf the Web for a matching > license, then no mention of GPL ever occurs > in the license documents you reach, much less > in the source code you've downloaded. Although > the files js/src/* have up to date licenses, > is there anyone in this modern era who thinks > that the compilation & dependacy system (Makefiles > and directory structure) are not also part of the > source? No, no-one. However, different contributors contribute to both. It's quite possible that contributors to the code may give permission to relicense, and contributors to the build system may not. > Can someone comment on the value of publicly > stated policies by AOL compared with actual > inclusion of license terms in the source product? Code should be used under the license terms attached to it currently. If you have particular need for some files under a particular license, then they can be given priority in the relicensing process - contact me with details. > Surely the former is a much weaker commitment > to a given licensing scheme, and subject to > arbitrary changes by AOL management? It's not subject to arbitrary changes by AOL's management, because I'm implementing it, and I don't work for AOL :-) > I'm legally naive like most people. I can't > believe I can trust the licensing arrangements > as they stand - there's not enough legal > statements in the source to turn mere policy > into a legal commitment. You are absolutely right. A statement does not a relicensing make. This will all get sorted out. Eventually. I'm waiting on various people to do things for me that I can't do myself. Gerv
