Date: Tue, 16 May 2000 04:53:02 +0530 From: Rahul Siddharthan <rsidd@physics.iisc.ernet.in> To: David Schwartz <davids@webmaster.com> Cc: Anatoly Vorobey <mellon@pobox.com>, Neil Blakey-Milner <nbm@mithrandr.moria.org>, chat@freebsd.org Subject: Re: RE: Why are people against GNU? WAS Re: 5.0 already? Message-ID: <20000516045301.C8613@physics.iisc.ernet.in> In-Reply-To: <002501bfbec1$80333b70$021d85d1@youwant.to>; from davids@webmaster.com on Mon, May 15, 2000 at 04:01:27PM -0700 References: <20000515131558.61220@techunix.technion.ac.il> <002501bfbec1$80333b70$021d85d1@youwant.to>
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> > It was stated that you, the author, didn't have a choice, and could > > not use the GPL (without modifying it) and avoid allowing your users to > > choose a later version. > > > > That statement was not true. > > If RMS publically states that he will grant permission for people to apply > the GPL with statements before or after it that modify its terms, I will > withdraw that complaint. If not, I stand by it. > > As I understand it, the GPL is a piece of property that is owned. You may > not use it any way other than the way the author permits you to. > > If Stallman grants permission solely for that particular type of > modification, then my allegation will become false, but will have been true > when it was made. There's no modification involved. The GPL version 2 is a specific document. It allows you to apply it to your software. It does not require anywhere that you should always permit replacing that license by a later version. It does, however, make clear what the situation is if the program specifies that this version "or any later version" applies to it; but this is a possibility based on what the programmer chooses to do, not a necessity. You can take the GPL, bundle it with your code, and say "this program may be distributed under version 2 of the GPL, and under no other license and no other version of the GPL." Nothing in the GPL stops you from doing that. R. To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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