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IRC: #boycottnovell @ FreeNode: Sunday, March 08, 2020

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tedboxAdmittedly a fan of a new licenseMar 08 05:30
tedboxWhile I definitely agree that license proliferation is a bad thing, I find myself actually being an advocate of a fairly new license: Copyleft-next.Mar 08 05:30
tedboxhttps://spdx.org/licenses/copyleft-next-0.3.0.htmlMar 08 05:30
tedboxOne of the nice things about it is that it's actually nicely short and readable, while nonetheless containing basically the entire stipulations of the GPLv3 license, and adds a 15-year sunset after which code released under its license becomes permissively licensed.Mar 08 05:30
tedbox2 2 ReplyMar 08 05:30
tedbox2 monthsdoublelayerSilver badgeMar 08 05:30
-TechrightsBN/#boycottnovell-spdx.org | copyleft-next 0.3.0 | Software Package Data Exchange (SPDX)Mar 08 05:30
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:30
tedboxRe: Admittedly a fan of a new licenseMar 08 05:30
tedboxI don't have an objection to this license per se, but I don't see the merits you have described. It seems about as easy to read as other similarly-sized licenses, and more complex than many shorter ones. Furthermore, I note the following potential problems.Mar 08 05:30
tedboxFirst, there is a clause allowing the original author to dual-license the thing, letting a proprietary version exist. This may sound fine in that a company is unlikely to pay someone for something they can get for free, but it might also allow them to produce an increasing number of different versions under different licenses that will prove in future to be a pain to reintegrate. Worse still, it's not exactly clear who gets the right to dual Mar 08 05:30
tedboxlicense. Theoretically, only the original author gets that right. But since this license applies to all parts of a derived work a la GPL, what happens if I update the work of someone else. I might be able to dual license my additions while keeping the original code open, or I might be in violation if I try. I'm almost certainly not allowed to dual license the whole thing, but if I'm able to dual license my additions, I could be able to Mar 08 05:30
tedboxeffectively nullify the requirement to release them under the same license by applying two licenses and then not distributing a version under the original license.Mar 08 05:30
tedboxSecond, you have expressed that you like the sunset clause. That clause reads as follows: "The conditions in sections 2 through 5 no longer apply once fifteen years have elapsed from the date of My first Distribution of My Work under this License." This looks problematic to me. What does "first distribution" mean? If I release an update, does that count as a subsequent distribution of the original thing or does it start the clock over again? Mar 08 05:30
tedboxThese questions may seem pointless, but it's this type of difficulty with licensing that can hamper innovation or rights to source. If I don't know whether or not I can do something, I'm less likely to work on a project, and companies who wish to take open source and turn it proprietary will jump on a license that has problems allowing them more leeway than was originally intended.Mar 08 05:30
tedbox37 0 ReplyMar 08 05:30
tedbox2 monthsTinslave_the_BareleggedMar 08 05:30
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:30
tedboxRe: Admittedly a fan of a new licenseMar 08 05:30
tedbox> allowing the original author to dual-license the thingMar 08 05:30
tedboxThis.Mar 08 05:30
tedboxI once paid a developer of a GPL'ed application quite a substantial sum to include translations.as I was keen to be able to use the software in a trans-national company. The developer duly did the work, which would improve the application's wider applicability, but then chose to dual-license the result, and yes, the code I paid for was in the "pro" version.Mar 08 05:30
tedbox1 0 ReplyMar 08 05:30
tedbox2 monthsheyrickSilver badgeMar 08 05:30
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:31
tedboxRe: Admittedly a fan of a new licenseMar 08 05:31
tedbox"I'm almost certainly not allowed to dual license the whole thing"Mar 08 05:31
tedboxOne day other licences will drop the bullshit and catch up with the EUPL. Read it in the European language of your choice and note the compatibility clause in section 5.Mar 08 05:31
tedbox0 0 ReplyMar 08 05:31
tedbox2 monthsdoublelayerSilver badgeMar 08 05:31
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:31
tedboxRe: Admittedly a fan of a new licenseMar 08 05:31
tedboxAs with the last license, after having read the one you mention, I have little objection to its content. However, I see no particular merits to this license and a few annoying aspects. The first is that this license includes many phrases that sound like this: "Nothing in this Licence is intended to deprive the Licensee of the benefits from any exception or limitation to the exclusive rights of the rights owners in the Work, of the exhaustion Mar 08 05:31
tedboxof those rights or of other applicable limitations thereto." It's reasonably clear what this sentence means, but it is by no means the clearest way to say that and the whole thing is written like this. Compared to the clarity and terseness in many other licenses, this is worse.Mar 08 05:31
tedboxSecond, I note the geographic limitation to where this license can be argued; if I produce a work licensed under this in Canada and someone in India violates that license, I can only pursue some types of actions in Canadian or Indian courts, and must pursue some types in Belgian courts. That might never be a major problem, but I see no benefit to the restriction.Mar 08 05:31
tedbox3 0 ReplyMar 08 05:31
tedbox2 monthsoverunderSilver badgeMar 08 05:31
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:31
tedboxRe: Admittedly a fan of a new licenseMar 08 05:31
tedboxBefore people settle on pros and cons, take a step back and ask...Mar 08 05:31
tedbox"...distributed peer-to-peer software needs a license that addresses cryptographic key rights"Mar 08 05:31
tedboxMmmm... does it?Mar 08 05:31
tedboxMedeco has patents and controls on their key blanks, but if you want a blank, you can buy one second hand along with an angle cutter to cut them. It's a pain for the average "peer" as all they want is a copy of the damn key, and not in a few weeks. Meanwhile in those few weeks, the only non-peers with access to YOUR door are the official "distributors" and the so called bad guys until the paperwork is finished.Mar 08 05:31
tedbox2 0 ReplyMar 08 05:31
tedbox2 monthsDenariusSilver badgeMar 08 05:31
tedboxAm I missing something ?Mar 08 05:31
tedboxToo many "open source" licences, : agree. As for this case, what does this software do that ssh shared keys do already ? I await enlightenment if the fires dont keep me busyMar 08 05:31
tedbox7 0 ReplyMar 08 05:31
tedbox2 monthsWarm BrawSilver badgeMar 08 05:31
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:31
tedboxRe: Am I missing something ?Mar 08 05:31
tedboxI was puzzled by this too. However, I think it may be related to the following, if I have understood it correctly (which should not be taken as given)...Mar 08 05:31
tedboxThe issue at hand seems to be a sort of peer-to-peer cloud: the intention is that you put some data into it and it gets processed somewhere, perhaps in multiple different places. Other nodes may also get to validate the processing or data to check that participants aren't running rogue software.Mar 08 05:31
tedboxThis means that your data may end up in the hands of people you don't know and who you haven't explicitly authorised to receive it. The licence appears to be intended to ensure that, if you run the software, you have a GDPR-like obligation to anyone whose data you have processed.Mar 08 05:31
tedboxIt seems to me that the biggest problem here isn't the licence, but the entire concept. Clearly, there's a potential benefit in theory if you can have a sort of Bittorrent for lambda functions which might mean you're not at the mercy of your IoT provider's server infrastructure. Legally and practically, it seems like a complete nightmare - how do you even know who might have seen your data, never mind actually use the software licence (issued Mar 08 05:31
tedboxby a third party) to enforce your personal rights. And who would want to participate in such a network if they were potentially having to work out whose data they might have and whether any request to access it came from its legitimate owner.Mar 08 05:31
tedboxIAN, fortunately, AL, but this doesn't sound to me like the kind of problem a software licence can usefully resolve.Mar 08 05:31
tedbox12 0 ReplyMar 08 05:31
tedbox2 monthsRich 2Silver badgeMar 08 05:31
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:31
tedboxRe: Am I missing something ?Mar 08 05:31
tedboxWell you made more sense of it than I managed. Congrats.Mar 08 05:31
tedboxThis doesn’t seem like a licensing issue at all to me though - stopping someone spying on your data seems like an issue much too important for a mere license to oversee.Mar 08 05:31
tedboxI’ve never understood the whole OSI thing. Why should anyone give a fig that some self-appointed organisation (because frankly, that’s what it is) deems your license worthy of its approval?Mar 08 05:31
tedbox2 4 ReplyMar 08 05:31
tedbox2 monthsdoublelayerSilver badgeMar 08 05:32
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:32
tedboxRe: Am I missing something ?Mar 08 05:32
tedboxHaving an external critic who can at least review licenses is a little useful for people who don't want to read the text of a long license or who might miss a thing that turns out to have a legal meaning but looks innocuous, and as such they could protect people from an intentionally hobbled license or one flawed by someone's imprecise legal language. It's unimportant to you if they approve of your license, but it could be important if they Mar 08 05:32
tedboxapprove of someone else's license that you're using, and what they think of yours could be important to potential users or developers of your thing.Mar 08 05:32
tedboxThat said, since they don't provide answers to various questions because that would be too close to legal advice, their usefulness ends there. The same provisos apply to other major players in the legal side of open source, such as the FSF and the places that actively search for license violations. They have some useful purposes, but it's important to know what they're doing and the many useful things they won't do.Mar 08 05:32
tedbox5 0 ReplyMar 08 05:32
tedbox2 monthsYes MeSilver badgeMar 08 05:32
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:32
tedboxThumb UpMar 08 05:32
tedboxRe: Am I missing something ?Mar 08 05:32
tedboxAs I understand the following clauses:Mar 08 05:32
tedbox4.2.1. No Withholding User DataMar 08 05:32
tedbox4.2.2. No Technical Measures that Limit AccessMar 08 05:32
tedbox4.2.3. No Legal or Contractual Measures that Limit AccessMar 08 05:32
tedboxthis basically says "you can't screw around your users" if you use the licensed crypto code to encrypt user data. That's pretty powerful, and it's certainly taking an open source licence where no open source licence has travelled before. But it seems to be in the spirit of OSS, extended to user data. I like it.Mar 08 05:32
tedboxBruce pretending that open source licences mean that developers don't need lawyers is pretty remarkable. Sure, they don't need lawyers to put their code under a given licence. I do it all the time (well, occasionally). But if they get sued, or if someone takes their code and breaks the terms of the licence, they definitely need a lawyer.Mar 08 05:32
tedbox2 2 ReplyMar 08 05:32
tedbox2 monthsdoublelayerSilver badgeMar 08 05:32
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:32
tedboxRe: Am I missing something ?Mar 08 05:32
tedboxI think the point of not needing a lawyer is that the people writing the code shouldn't need a lawyer to figure out what they are and aren't allowed to do with existing code. Just like you probably wouldn't hire a lawyer to read the terms of service documents, you shouldn't have to before you contribute code to an existing project.Mar 08 05:32
tedboxTake this example, which I recently did. I had an open source project that was a bit fiddly to get running, but less technical users wanted to use. I wanted to package up a version of it in binary form. However, you needed to link with some libraries that were under different open source licenses. Furthermore, I wrote a small skin around the main project to make the process of starting it easier. The following questions could be asked about myMar 08 05:32
tedboxfinal package:Mar 08 05:32
tedbox1. Do I have to list the licenses for all of these libraries somewhere, along with their original source locations? If so, where do I have to put this and do I really have to include four copies of the MIT license that differ only in the copyright line at the top?Mar 08 05:32
tedbox2. What license is my extra code? Am I required to put it under a specific license based on what I'm doing with it? Do I have to set up a repo for what is a very small chunk of code that isn't very important?Mar 08 05:32
tedbox3. Does any part of this cross the line into "derived work", and do any of my licenses have an extra requirement for those?Mar 08 05:32
tedboxDepending on the specific licenses involved, the answers to those questions might not be obvious. Fortunately for me, all the licenses I needed were permissive, so I didn't have to worry that I was violating a more specific one. I think that the original sentiment was that licenses should remain simple enough that questions of this nature can be answered without needing to spend a lot of time considering legal language or checking definitions Mar 08 05:32
tedboxin legal texts or case law. Admittedly, I don't know if that's a problem we have seen, but I can see the theory of why it might be.Mar 08 05:32
tedbox16 0 ReplyMar 08 05:32
tedbox2 monthsgnasher729Silver badgeMar 08 05:32
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:32
tedboxRe: Am I missing something ?Mar 08 05:32
tedboxAdmittedly "Don't use this software to screw your users" is in contradiction to GPL's "use this software any way you like". On the other hand, it's good if you're not allowed to screw your users. So I can very much agree and disagree with Perens.Mar 08 05:32
tedbox2 0 ReplyMar 08 05:32
tedbox2 monthsAnonymous CowardMar 08 05:32
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:32
tedboxAnonymous CowardMar 08 05:32
tedbox@gnasher729 - Re: Am I missing something ?Mar 08 05:32
tedboxNot so fast, mate! You're doing it wrong. GPL says "use this software any way you like except for screwing your users". See, there's no contradiction here.Mar 08 05:33
tedbox2 2 ReplyMar 08 05:33
tedbox2 monthsCedericSilver badgeMar 08 05:33
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:33
tedboxRe: @gnasher729 - Am I missing something ?Mar 08 05:33
tedboxHmm, no. GPL lets you use the licenced code to do whatever you choose to your users, unless it relates to the code and software itself.Mar 08 05:33
tedboxWhich is why you can embed Linux in your weapon systems, or use GIMP to create advertising, or use ADempiere to manage your Uighur re-education camp.Mar 08 05:33
tedboxThat's the thing about freedom. To enjoy it you have to accept its downsides.Mar 08 05:33
tedbox5 0 ReplyMar 08 05:33
tedbox2 monthsDavCravSilver badgeMar 08 05:33
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:33
tedboxRe: @gnasher729 - Am I missing something ?Mar 08 05:33
tedbox"Which is why you can embed Linux in your weapon systems, or use GIMP to create advertising, or use ADempiere to manage your Uighur re-education camp."Mar 08 05:33
tedboxTo be fair, in each of these cases the users are not the ones being screwed.Mar 08 05:33
tedbox3 0 ReplyMar 08 05:33
tedbox2 monthsMichael WojcikSilver badgeMar 08 05:33
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:33
tedboxRe: @gnasher729 - Am I missing something ?Mar 08 05:33
tedboxWell, you can also embed Linux in sex toys. Then it is the user who's...Mar 08 05:33
tedbox1 0 ReplyMar 08 05:33
tedbox2 monthsDoctor SyntaxSilver badgeMar 08 05:33
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:33
tedboxRe: Am I missing something ?Mar 08 05:33
tedbox"use this software any way you like"Mar 08 05:33
tedboxRemember that statute law will always override contract law. "Any way you like" will still get you into trouble if what you like happens to be a transgression of the law of the land. It ought to be the latter that provides protection for customers, at least in a consumer environment.Mar 08 05:33
tedboxIn a B2B transaction where there is less protection afforded by statute the customers should check the T&Cs, if necessary, run them past their lawyers, and then make a risk assessment before going ahead.Mar 08 05:33
tedboxTrying to extend licence law into areas where there are (or should be) existing protections, at least for consumers is scope creep for an organisation such as OSI. Admittedly I'm looking at this from a European PoV; things may be fuzzier in the US and maybe also in the UK in the future.Mar 08 05:33
tedbox3 1 ReplyMar 08 05:33
tedbox2 monthsChronosSilver badgeMar 08 05:33
tedboxDevilMar 08 05:33
tedboxBSDMar 08 05:33
tedboxI note with interest than Mr Perens conveniently ignores the three and four clause BSD licences which predate both the OSI and GPL. You really can't get much simpler if you want a lawyer-free experience, although they admittedly don't conform to the idealists' view that a licence should enforce openness of the resulting derivatives.Mar 08 05:33
tedboxIcon, because Beastie, whose position was usurped by a politically correct sex toy/space hopper a few years ago, roughly around the same time pet projects and idealism screwed up the ports system.Mar 08 05:33
tedbox19 2 ReplyMar 08 05:33
tedbox2 monthsNetBlackOpsMar 08 05:33
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:33
tedboxRe: BSDMar 08 05:33
tedboxYes, I particularly object to the exclusion of the BSD license.Mar 08 05:33
tedbox11 1 ReplyMar 08 05:33
tedbox2 monthsJamie JonesSilver badgeMar 08 05:33
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:34
tedboxThumb UpMar 08 05:34
tedboxRe: BSDMar 08 05:34
tedboxAhhhh yes, I remember when ports was more than just a plaything for pkg developers...Mar 08 05:34
tedboxThere have been some good advances, but some iffy ones, but woe betide anyone who dares have a different opinion... As you say, pet projects and idealism - it's why most of my patches remain local these days :-(Mar 08 05:34
tedboxI totally agree on the space hopper too!Mar 08 05:34
tedbox1 0 ReplyMar 08 05:34
tedbox2 monthsVenerable and Fragrant Wind of ChangeMar 08 05:34
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:34
tedboxRe: BSDMar 08 05:34
tedboxErm, what? Who is ignoring the BSD licence, and how?Mar 08 05:34
tedboxAgreed, BSD is easygoing - though one might argue MIT is better still if you want lawyer-free. But that's nothing to do with this article. And ironically I don't think they're actually lawyer-free at all: rather they're a lawyer's minimum conditions for releasing source while covering an institutional arse against being sued.Mar 08 05:34
tedboxIf you mean the "we only need three licences" comment, I read that as making a point about duplication in the proliferation of licences. Not about the licences themselves. I could speculate that it hints at "Apache is the modernised BSD", but to say that's what he meant would be putting words in his mouth. And I wouldn't entirely agree, but then I still think GPLv2 was a work of genius - in part because it kicked off the whole debate, but alsoMar 08 05:34
tedboxbecause it's a lawyer-free work that's since held up in court against lawyer attacks.Mar 08 05:34
tedbox1 4 ReplyMar 08 05:34
tedbox2 monthsChronosSilver badgeMar 08 05:34
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:34
tedboxRe: BSDMar 08 05:34
tedboxIf we're going to be pedantic, the WTFPL is much more permissive. Apache does not replace the BSD licence and, for that matter, why the hell everything has to be "modernised" when there's sod-all wrong with it evades my ken.Mar 08 05:34
tedbox4 0 ReplyMar 08 05:34
tedbox2 monthsAnonymous CowardMar 08 05:34
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:34
tedboxAnonymous CowardMar 08 05:34
tedboxRe: BSDMar 08 05:34
tedboxGPL V1 was Lawyer Free.For GPL V2 Stallman got a professor of Law from Columbia School of Law to help with the draft. The result has indeed held up in courts in the USA, in the Cherokee Nation (a Native American {Indian}Tribe in Oklahoma in the US which has their own court system in the EU and in several Asian Nations.Mar 08 05:34
tedbox1 0 ReplyMar 08 05:34
tedbox2 monthsLDSSilver badgeMar 08 05:34
tedboxDevilMar 08 05:34
tedboxWhen you put ideology into software licenses....Mar 08 05:34
tedbox... you can't really expect everybody shares your own ideology only.Mar 08 05:34
tedbox14 2 ReplyMar 08 05:34
tedbox2 monthsAnonymous CowardMar 08 05:34
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:34
tedboxAnonymous CowardMar 08 05:34
tedbox@LDS - Re: When you put ideology into software licenses....Mar 08 05:34
tedboxAnd this is absolutely normal. Just pick and use the license you feel comfortable with and let others have their choice.Mar 08 05:34
tedbox1 0 ReplyMar 08 05:34
tedbox2 monthsLDSSilver badgeMar 08 05:34
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:34
tedbox"And this is absolutely normal"Mar 08 05:34
tedboxIs it? Would you like any good you buy come attached with a string of requirements - which do not have anything to do with the good itself, but only try to assert some kind of principle? What if things start to come with licenses incompatible with each other, so you can't use them together, just because the designer or producer believes he or she could change mankind?Mar 08 05:34
tedboxThis could lead to a balkanization of the software landscape (and next who knows what) that can only make it far worse.Mar 08 05:35
tedbox2 0 ReplyMar 08 05:35
tedbox2 monthsJohnFenSilver badgeMar 08 05:35
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:35
tedboxRe: "And this is absolutely normal"Mar 08 05:35
tedbox> Would you like any good you buy come attached with a string of requirements - which do not have anything to do with the good itself, but only try to assert some kind of principle?Mar 08 05:35
tedboxThey already effectively do. When you buy something, you are not just buying the product itself, you are also funding the principles of the company that you're buying from, and that includes quite a lot of things that are unrelated to the product itself.Mar 08 05:35
tedbox> This could lead to a balkanization of the software landscape (and next who knows what) that can only make it far worse.Mar 08 05:35
tedboxThe software landscape is already very balkanized anyway.Mar 08 05:35
tedbox2 0 ReplyMar 08 05:35
tedbox2 monthsMichael WojcikSilver badgeMar 08 05:35
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:35
tedboxRe: "And this is absolutely normal"Mar 08 05:35
tedboxWhat if things start to come with licenses incompatible with each other, so you can't use them together, just because the designer or producer believes he or she could change mankind?Mar 08 05:35
tedboxI'm not seeing the problem. If a software package has a license you dislike, don't use it. Find an alternative or write your own.Mar 08 05:35
tedboxNo one's entitled to free software. Personally, I'm perfectly happy with the authors of open-source software slapping all sorts of conditions into their licenses. If a license is onerous or problematic, people won't use the package. Developers who want their work adopted widely will use conventional FOSS licenses that are compatible with those of other packages.Mar 08 05:35
tedbox1 0 ReplyMar 08 05:35
tedbox2 monthsTrollslayerSilver badgeMar 08 05:35
tedboxFacepalmMar 08 05:35
tedboxWhat does vaccination have to do with software licencing?Mar 08 05:35
tedboxThis alone makes the system suspect.Mar 08 05:35
tedboxI support vaccination obviously but these people are deciding they can interfere in others' lives.Mar 08 05:35
tedbox16 2 ReplyMar 08 05:35
tedbox2 monthsJulieMSilver badgeMar 08 05:35
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:35
tedboxRe: What does vaccination have to do with software licencing?Mar 08 05:35
tedboxIt means you can only use the software if you, your family and your staff are not walking biological weapons. Which I think is entirely reasonable. Some of the people who created software would not have lived long enough to do so without the benefits of modern medicine.Mar 08 05:35
tedbox4 15 ReplyMar 08 05:35
tedbox2 monthskatrinabSilver badgeMar 08 05:35
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:35
tedboxRe: What does vaccination have to do with software licencing?Mar 08 05:35
tedboxVaccination is good, but it doesn’t belong in a software licence, and probably isn’t legally enforceable anyway. Are you required to hand over your medical records to your employer’s software distributor for a compliance check?Mar 08 05:35
tedbox18 1 ReplyMar 08 05:35
tedbox2 monthsAnonymous CowardMar 08 05:35
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:35
tedboxAnonymous CowardMar 08 05:35
tedboxRe: What does vaccination have to do with software licencing?Mar 08 05:35
tedboxNext stop is what ? You can only use the software if you can prove you've been castrated ? Please be careful whenever using the word reasonable.Mar 08 05:35
tedbox7 2 ReplyMar 08 05:35
tedbox2 monthsMichael WojcikSilver badgeMar 08 05:36
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:36
tedboxRe: What does vaccination have to do with software licencing?Mar 08 05:36
tedboxAh, a slippery-slope claim, the sign of having no real argument to make.Mar 08 05:36
tedboxIf you don't like the conditions of the license, don't use the product. Or use it in violation of the license, and suffer the consequences, if any. No one's putting a gun to anyone's head here.Mar 08 05:36
tedboxHonestly, the things some of you worry about...Mar 08 05:36
tedbox0 1 ReplyMar 08 05:36
tedbox2 monthsironSilver badgeMar 08 05:36
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:36
tedboxRe: What does vaccination have to do with software licencing?Mar 08 05:36
tedboxI present the ECOATPL license:Mar 08 05:36
tedboxEatMar 08 05:36
tedboxCustardMar 08 05:36
tedboxOnMar 08 05:36
tedboxAMar 08 05:36
tedboxTuesdayMar 08 05:36
tedboxPublicMar 08 05:36
tedboxLicenseMar 08 05:36
tedboxYou can only use software licensed under ECOATPL if you eat custard on Tuesdays. Stop eating custard on Tuesdays and you must uninstall the software.Mar 08 05:36
tedboxSome of the people who created software would not have lived long enough to do so without the benefits of custard. (because their pudding would have been too dry)Mar 08 05:36
tedboxSee how ridiculous it is?Mar 08 05:36
tedbox9 2 ReplyMar 08 05:36
tedbox2 monthsMichael WojcikSilver badgeMar 08 05:36
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:36
tedboxRe: What does vaccination have to do with software licencing?Mar 08 05:36
tedboxI don't have a problem with this. Will you be licensing anything interesting under these terms?Mar 08 05:36
tedbox0 0 ReplyMar 08 05:36
tedbox2 monthsCarpet Deal 'emBronze badgeMar 08 05:36
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:36
tedboxRe: What does vaccination have to do with software licencing?Mar 08 05:36
tedboxI have a hard time seeing the vaccination requirement as anything but unenforceable. Coincidentally, so does Bruce Perens.Mar 08 05:36
tedbox14 0 ReplyMar 08 05:36
tedbox2 monthsvetiSilver badgeMar 08 05:36
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:36
tedboxRe: What does vaccination have to do with software licencing?Mar 08 05:36
tedboxThis is an answer to the above question "why do we need an OSI at all?"Mar 08 05:36
tedboxA hundred approved licences may sound like approximately 95 too many, but think how much worse it could be if there were nobody to filter out nonsense like this.Mar 08 05:36
tedbox4 0 ReplyMar 08 05:36
tedbox2 monthsMichael WojcikSilver badgeMar 08 05:36
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:36
tedboxRe: What does vaccination have to do with software licencing?Mar 08 05:36
tedboxOK, how much worse could it be? What problem, exactly, would we face in the grim dystopia where there is no OSI?Mar 08 05:37
tedboxThere was a software industry before the OSI. I'll go out on a limb and bet that, barring the complete destruction of civilization, there will be a software industry after the OSI.Mar 08 05:37
tedboxYes, incentives to use a relatively small collection of licenses is good for industry, because it reduces the cost of compliance when using free software. And free software reduces cost for industry. But I see very little support for the thesis that most of the software which is widely used in the industry would suffer from a tremendous proliferation of licenses if OSI didn't exist.Mar 08 05:37
tedbox1 0 ReplyMar 08 05:37
tedbox2 monthsJohnFenSilver badgeMar 08 05:37
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:37
tedboxRe: What does vaccination have to do with software licencing?Mar 08 05:37
tedboxI agree. I'm extremely pro-vaccination and consider it a societal duty. But I would never accept a license like this, because I think this sort of thing has no place in software licenses.Mar 08 05:37
tedbox3 0 ReplyMar 08 05:37
tedbox2 monthsheyrickSilver badgeMar 08 05:37
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:37
tedboxWTF?Mar 08 05:37
tedboxRe: What does vaccination have to do with software licencing?Mar 08 05:37
tedboxExactly. The software licence should concern itself with the software, period.Mar 08 05:37
tedboxWhile it might sound laudable to interfere in people's personal lives and require that they get themselves vaccinated like any sane person should...Mar 08 05:37
tedbox...would you feel the same way if the licence requested that the user be a member of the NRA (or a registered gun owner for international users)? It's really no different. This sort of thing has no place in an implicit agreement about how to use software and/or its source.Mar 08 05:37
tedbox2 1 ReplyMar 08 05:37
tedbox2 monthsMichael WojcikSilver badgeMar 08 05:37
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:37
tedboxRe: What does vaccination have to do with software licencing?Mar 08 05:37
tedboxwould you feel the same way if the licence requested that the user be a member of the NRAMar 08 05:37
tedboxYes, I'd feel the same way. I just wouldn't use software licensed under those terms.Mar 08 05:37
tedboxI'm not buying the "has nothing to do with software" purity argument either. What's the warrant for that argument? On what grounds should licenses be restricted to terms which are relevant only to the thing licensed? A license is always an ideologically-inflected assertion of rights over a product of labor. Even the most liberal licenses (MIT, say, or CC0) are at the very least an endorsement of some concept of intellectual-property rights andMar 08 05:37
tedboxthe idea that some those rights can be disavowed.Mar 08 05:37
tedboxIf I produce something under conditions in which I retain ownership, then I have the right to assert whatever ridiculous conditions I like about its use. Some of those conditions may be voided by law; some (probably all, in practice, given a sufficiently determined and well-resourced adversary) may be unenforceable. But I can assert them all I like, and anyone who says I shouldn't because of some halfbaked notion of pseudo-legalistic purity isMar 08 05:37
tedboxwelcome to fuck right off.Mar 08 05:37
tedbox0 0 ReplyMar 08 05:37
tedbox2 monthsheyrickSilver badgeMar 08 05:37
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:37
tedboxRe: What does vaccination have to do with software licencing?Mar 08 05:37
tedboxYeah, YOU can assert whatever weird terms you like in a licence (some of mine require the user to be nice to kittens, but nobody has ever said anything, likely because nobody reads that stuff), because one can take it or leave it (or get it legally smacked down for reaching into contexts that are irrelevant to that which is being licenced).Mar 08 05:37
tedboxA bona fide "open source" licence should not. It should concern itself with exactly that which is necessary for the use of the software and/or source and no more.Mar 08 05:37
tedboxDon't get me wrong, it's a good idea to fight back against the stupidity of the anti vaccine people, but it's not something that belongs in a software licence. I mean, let's start with an obvious question - how the hell do you plan on enforcing that?Mar 08 05:37
tedbox2 0 ReplyMar 08 05:37
tedbox2 monthsMichael WojcikSilver badgeMar 08 05:37
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:37
tedboxRe: What does vaccination have to do with software licencing?Mar 08 05:37
tedboxthese people are deciding they can interfere in others' livesMar 08 05:37
tedboxNo they aren't. They're imposing a requirement on people who want to use the product of their labor. Those who don't like that requirement aren't obliged to use the software.Mar 08 05:37
tedboxThey may be providing an incentive for the behavior they prefer, but they're not "interfering" in any substantial way.Mar 08 05:37
tedbox0 0 ReplyMar 08 05:38
tedbox2 monthsJulieMSilver badgeMar 08 05:38
tedboxFrom the ArticleMar 08 05:38
tedbox"Well, it seems to me that the organization is rather enthusiastically headed toward accepting a license that isn't freedom respecting" -- Bruce Perens.Mar 08 05:38
tedboxYou were already doing that when you accepted the Apache licence. Someone (*cough* Google *cough*) can write a program, release it in compiled, binary form only under the Apache licence, and still be entirely compliant with the licence. They can even call it Open Source and plaster the OSI logo all over their advertisements, without ever actually distributing a single byte of Source Code. The licence gives end users theoretical permissions n Mar 08 05:38
tedboxin respect of the Source Code, but there is nothing that obliges anyone to supply the Source Code in practice. Which rather makes a mockery of the whole thing.Mar 08 05:38
tedbox14 0 ReplyMar 08 05:38
tedbox2 monthsLDSSilver badgeMar 08 05:38
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:38
tedboxRe: From the ArticleMar 08 05:38
tedboxGoogle, Amazon, Facebook & C. do it with the GPL as well. As long as they don't redistribute code to third parties they don't have to release the source code. All of them use internally a lot of modified code you won't ever see published, even when it's fully used to deliver external 'services'. All open source license were designed against COTS software, just all Xaas models bypass the old delivery method so they are free to exploit open Mar 08 05:38
tedboxsource code and let them publish only what is needed to fully support their business model and profits.Mar 08 05:38
tedbox8 0 ReplyMar 08 05:38
tedbox2 monthsDuncanLargeSilver badgeMar 08 05:38
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:38
tedboxRe: From the ArticleMar 08 05:38
tedboxAll of that is fine.Mar 08 05:38
tedboxIf you don't distribute the binaries, you don't need to distribute the source. It maters not if anyone is using the data your software created, that's just the output.Mar 08 05:38
tedboxThats totally different from the Apache license issue. There you ARE distributing the software.Mar 08 05:38
tedbox0 0 ReplyMar 08 05:38
tedbox2 monthsDCFusorSilver badgeMar 08 05:38
tedboxMixing freedom and money - or obligationMar 08 05:38
tedboxSeems to me it's all tension around my title.Mar 08 05:38
tedboxI want to be able to claim I'm giving something away, while demanding either conditions on it - it's not really a gift - or a way to get paid for what I'm taking credit for giving away.Mar 08 05:38
tedboxYeah, right.Mar 08 05:38
tedboxIf I knew a way to resolve that one - I'd clue y'all in. But it seems obvious to me from the sheer number of attempts that this is mostly some kind of spin to have it both ways at once. And frankly, it seems like hubris to claim you've finally figured out a way to have your cake and eat it too. Someone has misplaced career goals - that kind of junk is "marketing".Mar 08 05:38
tedboxMost of us just have to get on with life, and mostly ignore these first world problems. Personally I just give my stuff away - I got the value out of it by using it myself, and simply ensuring no one else can take my own stuff from me or prevent me from using it, claiming it's their IP. seems like a worthwhile setup. Almost any of the licenses give me that, and frankly aren't even needed since copyright is automatic in most cases. Even if Mar 08 05:38
tedboxsomeone "BSDs" it and takes their changes or additions private - what I turned loose is still out there. Sad if they are fruity and don't give credit for it, but hey, that's icing, not the cake.Mar 08 05:38
tedboxAs for getting paid, well I spent many years producing IP for hire, it's owned (if that is possible) by the people who paid me for the work, we're done, everyone went away happy AFAIK. They got a ROI, I got honed skills which are still valuable, win-win.Mar 08 05:38
tedboxI do see the value in copyright assignment to some big "good for us all "project, like Linux. But once you hand over your work, it's not yours - which is fine if your motivation was to aid the big project. If you had ulterior motives, well, shame on you.Mar 08 05:38
tedbox10 4 ReplyMar 08 05:38
tedbox2 monthsdoublelayerSilver badgeMar 08 05:38
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:38
tedboxRe: Mixing freedom and money - or obligationMar 08 05:38
tedboxI'm not disagreeing with you, but there are also reasons people choose to use less permissive licenses. Linux is GPL, for example, to keep the community benefiting from the code that was given away; the original authors aren't demanding anything from users, but if their work is extended, they ask that the results are similarly given away. I frequently find it irritating to decide exactly what license I should put on some code, and I often feelMar 08 05:38
tedbox after reading some license comparisons, a desire to simply release the thing, say "do what you want with it", and call it good. Unfortunately, that approach usually doesn't work because potential users are unsure about what is allowed without a specific license and I haven't included those indemnifications that every standard license has.Mar 08 05:38
tedbox1 0 ReplyMar 08 05:38
tedbox2 monthsJohnFenSilver badgeMar 08 05:38
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:38
tedboxRe: Mixing freedom and money - or obligationMar 08 05:39
tedbox> Unfortunately, that approach usually doesn't work because potential users are unsure about what is allowed without a specific license and I haven't included those indemnifications that every standard license has.Mar 08 05:39
tedboxI address this issue in a particular way (I copied the idea from other devs -- it's not mine). When I release software without conditions, I include clear wording to that effect in the documentation. In addition to that, for those who really need a "license" in order to be able to use it in their business model, I include a way to contact me for it. Then I provide a license to that particular person or company that grants them nonexclusive, Mar 08 05:39
tedboxperpetual, worldwide rights to use that particular version of the software as they see fit.Mar 08 05:39
tedbox0 0 ReplyMar 08 05:39
tedbox2 monthsJohnFenSilver badgeMar 08 05:39
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:39
tedboxRe: Mixing freedom and money - or obligationMar 08 05:39
tedbox> Personally I just give my stuff away - I got the value out of it by using it myself, and simply ensuring no one else can take my own stuff from me or prevent me from using it, claiming it's their IP. seems like a worthwhile setup.Mar 08 05:39
tedboxMe too.Mar 08 05:39
tedboxI basically stopped using OSS licenses years ago, for a whole lot of reasons. Now, my software falls into one of three categories, licensing-wise. Most software I write is released into the public domain outright. Some software I release with a license that is generally along the lines of OSS licenses, but is of my own devising. I also release a small amount of software under a closed-source license (although source is always available to Mar 08 05:39
tedboxcustomers).Mar 08 05:39
tedbox0 0 ReplyMar 08 05:39
tedbox2 monthsRLWatkinsMar 08 05:39
tedboxTranslated from lawyer-speak...Mar 08 05:39
tedbox"There are people who don't want me to get my way, but I can describe what they're doing in a way that makes them look bad."Mar 08 05:39
tedboxI'm on the fence about the license, but the attorney's statement about the approval process is a point against it.Mar 08 05:39
tedbox1 0 ReplyMar 08 05:39
tedbox2 monthsJohn GeekMar 08 05:39
tedboxLGPL, AGPL, Apache, and BSD/MITMar 08 05:39
tedboxI like the PostgreSQL version of the BSD style license. and if there is no PARTY1 (The University of California in the PG license), its even simpler.Mar 08 05:39
tedboxPortions Copyright © 1996-2020, $PARTY2Mar 08 05:39
tedboxPortions Copyright © 1994, $PARTY1Mar 08 05:39
tedboxPermission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its documentation for any purpose, without fee, and without a written agreement is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph and the following two paragraphs appear in all copies.Mar 08 05:39
tedboxIN NO EVENT SHALL $PARTY1 BE LIABLE TO ANY PARTY FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE AND ITS DOCUMENTATION, EVEN IF $PARTY1 HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.Mar 08 05:39
tedbox$PARTY1 SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE SOFTWARE PROVIDED HEREUNDER IS ON AN "AS IS" BASIS, AND $PARTY1 HAS NO OBLIGATIONS TO PROVIDE MAINTENANCE, SUPPORT, UPDATES, ENHANCEMENTS, OR MODIFICATIONS.Mar 08 05:39
tedbox1 0 ReplyMar 08 05:39
tedbox2 monthsDoctor SyntaxSilver badgeMar 08 05:39
tedbox Reply IconMar 08 05:39
tedboxIf I were $PARTY2 I'd want to be included in those disclaimers as well.Mar 08 05:39
tedbox1 0 ReplyMar 08 05:39
tedbox2 monthsstiineSilver badgeMar 08 05:39
tedboxFacepalmMar 08 05:39
tedboxso, the lawyer wouldn't characterize it that wayMar 08 05:39
tedboxThat was a very lawyerly way of saying "You're correct but my client is paying me for that to be incorrect."Mar 08 05:39
tedbox1 0 ReplyMar 08 05:39
tedbox2 monthsBinkyTheMagicPaperclipSilver badgeMar 08 05:39
tedboxPerens doesn't seem very well informedMar 08 05:39
tedboxAs mentioned, the BSD license needs to be included. OpenBSD specifically excludes Apache2 in the permitted license list, for instance.Mar 08 05:39
tedboxLinux is not the only way of doing open source..Mar 08 05:39
tedbox6 0 ReplyMar 08 05:40
tedbox2 monthsbkuhnMar 08 05:40
tedboxmore on the out-of-context quote at endMar 08 05:40
tedboxThe quote at the end is out-of-context and I suspect readers who see justMar 08 05:40
tedboxthat part might not fully understand my position. Here's a link to a post onMar 08 05:40
tedboxOSI list that makes my position clear: http://lists.opensource.org/pipermail/license-review_lists.opensource.org/2020-January/004630.htmlMar 08 05:40
tedbox3 0 ReplyMar 08 05:40
tedbox2 monthsheyrickSilver badgeMar 08 05:40
tedboxaccepting a license that isn't freedom respectingMar 08 05:40
-TechrightsBN/#boycottnovell-lists.opensource.org | [License-review] For approval: The Cryptographic Autonomy License (Beta 4)Mar 08 05:40
tedboxDepending upon where you are, one could say the same for the GPL...namely because the not terribly well defined linkage issue [*] meaning that the GPL only plays with itself so you can't bring in code from other sources (bsd, CDDL, etc) and use it alongside while respecting the freedoms of the licence that code was originally released under.Mar 08 05:40
tedbox* - makes sense for Linux, not so much for other systems and ways of doing things.Mar 08 05:40
tedboxhttps://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/all/2020/01/03/osi_cofounder_resigns/Mar 08 05:40
-TechrightsBN/#boycottnovell-forums.theregister.co.uk | Bruce Perens quits Open Source Initiative amid row over new data-sharing crypto license: 'We've gone the wrong way with licensing' • The Register ForumsMar 08 05:40
*tedbox is now known as roy_on_tedboxMar 08 06:04
oiaohmroy_on_tedbox: that is wrong.  Linux kernel DRM layer uses MIT license lots of this code is directly exported to freebsd and it legal.Mar 08 07:05
oiaohmroy_on_tedbox: gpl does not nuke the license the code came into the Linux kernel under.   So BSD and MIT licensed stuff stays bsd and mit license stuff inside the Linux kernel and can be taken back out under those licenses.Mar 08 07:06
oiaohmCddl is a different beast.  It contains a clause that a CDDL license file is only CDDL licensed this is where it cat fights with GPL bady.Mar 08 07:07
schestowitzns are just showing xtermMar 08 07:28
schestowitz> I notice that the different editions of The Local are all now blocked...Mar 08 07:28
schestowitzHaha.  Mar 08 07:28
schestowitzAre they still around? I rarely see any link to them anymore.Mar 08 07:28
schestowitzMaybe it's better that way, if you check the chain of ownership...Mar 08 07:29
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acer-box__https://twitter.com/AdrienneGT/status/1236687943626043392Mar 08 16:22
-TechrightsBN/#boycottnovell-@AdrienneGT: False Narratives! Inside The Free Software Foundation (#FSF) Part VII : A decade ago people tried to twist the wor… https://t.co/BIxlS44Mu8Mar 08 16:22
-TechrightsBN/#boycottnovell-@AdrienneGT: False Narratives! Inside The Free Software Foundation (#FSF) Part VII : A decade ago people tried to twist the wor… https://t.co/BIxlS44Mu8Mar 08 16:22
acer-box__"Mar 08 16:22
acer-box__Adrienne G. ThompsonMar 08 16:22
acer-box__@AdrienneGTMar 08 16:22
acer-box__·Mar 08 16:22
acer-box__2mMar 08 16:22
acer-box__False Narratives!Mar 08 16:22
acer-box__Inside The Free Software Foundation (#FSF) Part VII :Mar 08 16:22
acer-box__A decade ago people tried to twist the word “virgin” to portray #RMS as “sexist” even though both genders can be virgins ... #RiseUpForRMS #FreeSoftware #OpenSourceMar 08 16:22
acer-box__http://techrights.org/2020/03/08/rms-false-narratives/Mar 08 16:22
acer-box__ by @schestowitzMar 08 16:22
acer-box__"Mar 08 16:22
-TechrightsBN/#boycottnovell-techrights.org | Inside the Free Software Foundation (FSF) – Part VII: Richard Stallman Still Suffers From a False Narratives Epidemic | TechrightsMar 08 16:22
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