Re: The Great Licensing Discussion

[Michael Richardson <..hidden..>]

>>>>> "Chris" == Chris Travers <..hidden..> writes:
    >>>>>>> "Chris" == Chris Travers <..hidden..> writes:
    >>    Chris> So, suppose we do this.  What would it mean for
    >> contribution?
    >> 
    >>    Chris> If you are a current developer, would you be more or
    >> less    Chris> likely to contribute in the future if the code was
    >>    Chris> BSD-licensed?
    >> 
    >>    Chris> If you are not a current developer, would you be more
    >> or less    Chris> likely to join development in the future if the
    >> code was    Chris> BSD-licensed?
    >> 
    >> I am mostly agnostic, given that much of the code is GPLv2.  What
    >> matters more than the license, is the mechanism by which I
    >> contribute.   LedgerSMB had severe problems accepting code as a
    >> result of licensing decisions (version n+1 not GPL).

    Chris> You mean SQL-Ledger.  LedgerSMB has never addressed licensing
    Chris> changes.

Yes I do. Sorry.
You see, you've completely stamped that old meme out of my head!!!

    >> Why are you doing this work?  Who is it is for?  Do they care?

    Chris> The idea is to showcase a reference implementation of query
    Chris> mapping functions in other languages to attract a larger
    Chris> community.  Such work is entirely unbillable.  It's something
    Chris> I am committing to the community.

okay, I just wondered why the concern at this time.

    >> I have no objection to having the code.   BSD 2-clause is
    >> entirely compatible with GPLv2, and can be relicensed as GPLv2.

    Chris> The relicensing debate is something which is surprisingly
    Chris> complex.  My view (after discussing this with Richard Fontana
    Chris> from the software freedom law center a couple years ago) is
    Chris> that the BSD license does not allow attaching restrictions to
    Chris> unmodified BSD-licensed code.  This is clearly not a problem
    Chris> with the GPL v2, and nobody believes the 2-clause BSD license
    Chris> is incompatible with the GPL v3 either, although there
    Chris> certainly is no consensus as to why they are compatible or
    Chris> what either license requires from the other to be compatible.

Yeah...

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