The GPLv3 permits essentially the same modifications as the GPLv2 [LWN.net]

The GPLv3 permits essentially the same modifications as the GPLv2

Posted Sep 28, 2006 4:28 UTC (Thu) by JoeF (subscriber, #4486)
In reply to: The GPLv3 permits essentially the same modifications as the GPLv2 by xoddam
Parent article: Some GPLv3 clarifications from the FSF

The GPLv3 draft DOES NOT DIFFER from the GPLv2 in the essentials of the permission it grants to modify.
Oh, that "essentials" is such a good legal term. Is that all you can come up with?

I suggested you might have more fun playing with some other kids and you called me a nasty name. I'm telling Teacher now.
What a witty reply... You are such a good boy. Did you come up with it all on your own? That's a contender for "quote of the year".
Go play with the other kids in the sandbox. Call back when you have grown up.

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That's all, folks

Posted Sep 28, 2006 6:35 UTC (Thu) by xoddam (subscriber, #2322) [Link]

> Oh, that "essentials" is such a good legal term.
> Is that all you can come up with?

Real lawyers are thin on the ground here, you're in the wrong place if
you want legal advice. I'm not a lawyer and didn't claim to be.

Nor had I read the licences as closely as I should have before
participating in such a flamefest. If the posts above are the thanks I
get for spending my time deciphering legalese on your behalf, then yes,
that is all I will come up with for you, sir.

That's all, folks

Posted Sep 28, 2006 8:17 UTC (Thu) by JoeF (subscriber, #4486) [Link]

I don't need your help to "decipher" legalese. I can do so much better on my own, thank you very much.
And indeed, your attempt to decipher legalese has led you to some wrong conclusions. Instead of recognizing that, you lash out at people who may have a better grasp of it (while I am not a lawyer, I deal with US-style legalese pretty much daily, and I even somewhat enjoy it.)
Fact is and remains that the current GPLv3 draft would restrict my freedoms to use GPLed software. No amount of insults like calling my position "unethical" changes that. On the contrary, I consider it unethical to call opposing viewpoints unethical. Nobody who actually is interested in a real discussion would do that. Only people who want to avoid discussion could even come up with the idea to call other viewpoints "unethical".
Granted, it wasn't you who hurled that insult, but your posts were only marginally more civil, with your (paraphrased) "it's the GPL way or the highway." That's hubris and arrogance, and if you become arrogant, you end up being just another Microsoft.
I use the GPLv2 in my own software because I value the freedoms it provides. And that includes the freedom to use GPLv2-licensed software any way I like, provided I don't distribute it. And using it in a Web service is not distributing it. It is "using" it, modifications of the source or not. It is not a distribution of the work in any sense of the word.
I do not wish to be told by anybody, not even RMS, that these freedoms are all of a sudden not all that important, and that RMS and the FSF know what's best for me. Of course, the FSF can take these freedoms away in the GPLv3, that's their prerogative. But then it's not a free license anymore, not in the sense that RMS has been going around for years talking about freedom.

That's all, folks

Posted Sep 30, 2006 22:04 UTC (Sat) by h2 (guest, #27965) [Link]

xoddam, your posts have been consistently informative and well thought out. As well as coherent. Thanks.

The fact that other people are not able, or willing, to match your level will hopefully not dissuade you from continuing to post. Since this type of non-discourse is a given in any public forum, all I can do is thank you for the patience you've shown to others who clearly do not grasp the question nearly as well as you do, which is personally more than I would have been able to do.