Date: Sat, 06 Jan 2001 23:36:38 -0700 From: Wes Peters <wes@softweyr.com> To: Greg Lehey <grog@lemis.com> Cc: FreeBSD advocacy list <FreeBSD-advocacy@FreeBSD.org>, OpenBSD-advocacy@openbsd.org Subject: Re: TwoCows articles on BSD (was: Someone please flame TwoCows) Message-ID: <3A580E76.7DF3A8A4@softweyr.com> References: <20010107115008.F97330@wantadilla.lemis.com>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
Greg Lehey wrote:
%
% This came from the NetBSD advocacy list. There are articles on all
% three BSDs there, with some factual errors (the biggest one I saw was
% that they claim all three systems have a GPL licence). On the other
% hand, it's intended to be positive, and we shouldn't follow Hubert's
% lead and flame the author. Instead, it would be nice if as many
% people as possible sent him messages correcting factual errors (but
% without saying "My BSD is better than his BSD").
Flaming is not likely to help much. Patiently and politely explaining
might. My response, typed terribly into their itty-bitty response box:
> NetBSD, OpenBSD, FreeBSD under GPL? Heaven forbid!
> Just to avoid confusion, I'll paste in the license
> from this FreeBSD system:
>
> * Copyright (c) 1982, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1993
> * The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
> *
> * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
> * modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
> * are met:
> * 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
> * notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
> * 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
> * notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
> * documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
> * 3. All advertising materials mentioning features or use of this software
> * must display the following acknowledgement:
> * This product includes software developed by the University of
> * California, Berkeley and its contributors.
> * 4. Neither the name of the University nor the names of its contributors
> * may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
> * without specific prior written permission.
> *
> * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND
> * ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
> * IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
> * ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
> * FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
> * DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
> * OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
> * HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
> * LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY
> * OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
> * SUCH DAMAGE.
>
> Sure enough, nothing in there about "you must
> give away everything you work on," "this license
> virally attaches itself to every piece of software
> in comes on contact with," or any other GPL-like
> clauses. Must not be the GPL.
>
> This is often know as a "Berkeley" license, and it
> allows you to do with the software as you choose.
> Kirk McKusick, the keeper of the flame at UC Berkeley
> these days, refers to it as the "copycenter" as in
> "take it down to the copycenter and make as many
> copies as you wish.
>
> Thanks for noticing, and please don't hesitate to ask
> if you need clarification on points like this in the
> future. Feel free to consult one or more of the
> following mailing lists (in alphabetical order):
>
> freebsd-advocacy@freebsd.org
> netbsd-advocacy@netbsd.org
> advocacy@openbsd.org
>
> The bright, cheery BSD advocates there will be happy to
> help with BSD licensing, history, and community
> questions.
If someone else would like to point the author at a web article or two
explaining the difference between the GPL and Berkeley licenses, and
another point him to the "Open Source" acceptance of the 2-clause
license, perhaps we'll have him gently educated.
--
"Where am I, and what am I doing in this handbasket?"
Wes Peters Softweyr LLC
wes@softweyr.com http://softweyr.com/
To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org
with "unsubscribe freebsd-advocacy" in the body of the message
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?3A580E76.7DF3A8A4>