Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2001 22:32:49 -0700 From: "Ted Mittelstaedt" <tedm@toybox.placo.com> To: "Joe Clarke" <marcus@marcuscom.com> Cc: "FreeBSD User Questions List" <freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG> Subject: RE: BSD license question Message-ID: <004001c1215d$e48e7120$1401a8c0@tedm.placo.com> In-Reply-To: <20010810005102.K32966-100000@shumai.marcuscom.com>
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It could also be possible that netatalk is "complete" and further development on it is putting icing on the frosting on the cake, so this rush of development won't materialize. I guess my question is, if you set out to write a program and you manage to complete it and it does what you want it to do - doesen't that mean the project is finished? Ted Mittelstaedt tedm@toybox.placo.com Author of: The FreeBSD Corporate Networker's Guide Book website: http://www.freebsd-corp-net-guide.com >-----Original Message----- >From: Joe Clarke [mailto:marcus@marcuscom.com] >Sent: Thursday, August 09, 2001 9:53 PM >To: Ted Mittelstaedt >Cc: FreeBSD User Questions List >Subject: RE: BSD license question > > >Thanks, Ted. This is what I thought, and what I understand. However, due >to the incompatability (i.e. embrace and extend), the project will >probably be relicensed entirely. It's a shame really, but the dev team >thinks that once things go GPL, there will be a rush of developer effort >put forth that will give the project new life. I guess we'll see. > >Thanks to all that responded. > >Joe Clarke > >On Thu, 9 Aug 2001, Ted Mittelstaedt wrote: > >> You really should read the BSD license - it is very simple and easy >> to understand. Much more so than GPL if I say so myself. >> >> The BSD License does allow you to take source and binary and relicense >> it under whatever more restrictive license you wish. Of course, the >> original code still remains out there under the BSD license - just because >> a later variant is under GPL does not invalidate the original BSD >> distribution. >> >> The $64 catch, though, is that you CANNOT delete the original BSD >> license from the GPL-licensed result. >> >> So the end result is that the GPL program will be under GPL but it >> will still contain a copy of the BSD license. So, anyone reading it >> that has a little better than oatmeal for brains will see that in there >> and realize that the code originated from a BSD distribution. If that >> person has something against the GPL they will no doubt go back to >> the original BSD distribution and work on that, instead of the >> "contaminated" GPLized distribution. In fact they might just take the >> original BSD distribution and diff it against the GPL distribution, and >> prepare a set of patches that are "contaminated" GPL code, which can >> then be applied to the BSD distribution to create the GPL result. >> >> Ultimately, putting it under GPL will NOT in this case accomplish >the goal of >> the GPL - which is to prevent corporations and >> others from making proprietary modifications. Those entities will still be >> able to make modifications to the BSD distribution. The end result is >> you have simply split the distribution into 2 separate distributions - one >> GPL and one BSD - and these can further and further diverge from >each other. >> >> However, it would seem to me that the _polite_ thing to do would be for >> the developers of netatalk who have a bug up their butt about GPL could >> simply write their stuff as a source file that's under GPL, and leave >> the licensing of the rest of the source files alone. I understand >of course >> that due to the Embrace and Extend nature of GPL that the entire finished >> product would fall under GPL - but at any time in the future it >would make it >> easy for a BSD person to rewrite the GPLized modules and put them into the >> ORIGINAL BSD distribution of netatalk, if they felt the need to have a >> BSD-licensed version of netatalk. Of course, politeness rarely occurs to >> zealots. >> >> >> Ted Mittelstaedt >tedm@toybox.placo.com >> Author of: The FreeBSD Corporate >Networker's Guide >> Book website: >http://www.freebsd-corp-net-guide.com >> >> >> >-----Original >Message----- >> >From: owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG >> >[mailto:owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG]On Behalf Of Joe Clarke >> >Sent: Thursday, August 09, 2001 11:47 AM >> >To: FreeBSD User Questions List >> >Subject: OT: BSD license question >> > >> > >> >I realize this is off-topic, but please help me out here. I'm a netatalk >> >developer. Netatalk is currently BSD-licensed code. There is a thread >> >on the developers list to change netatalk from BSD to GPL. Is this legal? >> >Can someone arbitrarily change the license of a project if they're not the >> >author? I don't think so. Seems to me Microsoft would have taken Linux, >> >said it's now BSD licensed, and used it in Windows XP ( ;-) ). Thanks for >> >some clarification. >> > >> >Joe Clarke >> > >> > >> >To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org >> >with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message >> > >> >> >> > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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