My opinion is that it does in spirit, but not in actual fact. (It certainly doesn't comply with OSD #2, the requirement that the source be distributed; you could freely redistribute a compiled binary using the OGL).
But then, my opinion that the Open Source community itself doesn't follow the Open Source Definition has been roundly shouted down on LicenseDiscuss-L to the point where I don't even bother monitoring that conversation anymore. The problem is that the Open Source "community" believes that the BSD-style licenses (and others which fail the test of analysis) meet the Open Source defition. If those licenses do, then the OGL probably does too. The BSD license template allows unlimited redistribution in binary-only form, without recourse of the recipient to be given access to the source (violation of OSD#2). It also fails to enumerate the recipients' right to make a derivative work. And it fails to implement a "copyleft" or similar legal arrangement to make the rights granted by the license forward binding on the recipient (violating OSD #7). The problem with the Open Source definition is that it was crafted as a compromise by people who wanted to link the Free Software effort with a simple "show me the source" business objective. The Free Software project has a political dimension that the OSD tries to carefully avoid. Unfortunately, I think the OSD is therefore mostly useless - at least at the present level of compliance being required of OSD-certified licenses. The OGL really doesn't have much of a political objective. It is a strictly utilitarian approach to solving the problem of game-rule "silos" created by the copyrigtht law. In that sense, it's probably closer in spirit to the OSD than it is to the Free Software objectives - the OGL doesn't seek to transform the market from non-Free games to Free games; it simply exists as a mechanism by which consumer choice can become the paramount decision factor at work in the market. (It may, in the very long run, have the effect of reducing the marketshare of non-Open game content to a de minimis position, but that's not the objective of the project). Ryan _______________________________________________ Ogf-l mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.opengamingfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/ogf-l
