> I don't agree that adding a licensing exception is needed.
I don't agree either, and I was attracted to contribute to Wesnoth precisely because it's GPL (not some bastardized leaky homebrew version) and therefore community-owned. Taking Wesnoth out of the GPL ecosystem with an incompatible license seems like a horrible idea as well. Today if I'm coding for Wesnoth I can take any GPL-licensed piece of code and use it to develop faster. A single dumb exception, and all that crumbles. I think that this clause in the apple store terms of service makes it quite > clear that the GPL has precedence in governing the usage of the > software: > "(xiii) Usage rules for software Products are governed by the terms of > any end-user agreements or other terms and conditions required for use > of such Products. " > This does seem to say that whatever license the program is under, takes precedence. Maybe Kyle or someone else who sells other games on the App Store can clarify this point with Apple, making sure he asks that about the other game, not Wesnoth (i.e. "Can I sell my game with a more liberal license than yours?"). Also, at this point it starts to seem appropriate to use some of the plentiful money provided by the iPhone port to pay a consultation with a lawyer who can clarify this particular point, and the overall problem of whether there is a GPL violation. I think adding an exception is the wrong way to go. If people feel it > is necessary we could make it even more clear that the GPL is the > governing agreement, regardless of what other Apple usage policies may > be. If apple disagrees, they can remove Wesnoth. This is a good idea. Take the part of the Apple license that bother us, and write a paragraph on the Wesnoth app store page that states exactly the contrary. If Apple doesn't react, we can assume they tacitly agree. > If the FSF disagrees they can threaten to sue. The FSF doesn't own the copyright to Wesnoth and therefore can't sue. What they can do is help someone who has GPL'd, copyrighted code in Wesnoth sue whoever is violating the GPL. > We should not hamper ourselves by preemptively assuming that the GPL is not > the governing license under > which Wesnoth is being distributed on the apple store. I think adding > a license exception is a dangerous precedent. > I can see it now... the iPhone exception, the iToaster exception, the iCoffeeMug exception (requires the Wesnoth license to say "contents may be hot")... let's not embark on the slippery slope. > John McNabb > DarthFool > Gabriel aka gabba
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