Date: 04 Apr 1998 01:46:00 +0200
From: kaih@khms.westfalen.de (Kai Henningsen)
To: debian-devel@lists.debian.org
Subject: Re: X statement

shaleh@livenet.net (Shaleh)  wrote on 02.04.98 in <35241753.E3B41F26@livenet.net>:

> This was posted to another mailing list I am on.
>
> See http://www.camb.opengroup.org/tech/desktop/onlineorder/xdownload.htm
> for The Open Group's *free* download page and the license.  It is no
> more onerous, IMO, than Netscape's or Qt's licenses for source code.

Well, Netscape's source is free software, even according to rms - just  
like Linux or Emacs, or X11R6.3.

Qt and X11R6.4 aren't, just like Windows.

It's a completely different ball game.

Read the Debian Free Software Guidelines if you don't understand why.

> The cash haemorrhage is made worse by the non-fee paying XFree86.

Of course, all the XFree86 members have been *working* for free.

> Although it may be able to claim several million users, the net
> contribution to the development of the X Window System, as embodied by
> specs, protocols or cash is a flat zero.  No contributed specs, no
> contributed standards and no cash...

... but lots of contributed server code, which, IMO, is far more  
important, and is work that was previously only done inside commercial  
companies and NOT CONTRIBUTED BACK.

> but a lot of individuals and
> companies undoubtedly benefit.

And if they aren't stupid, the system vendors profit as well from the  
XFree86 work. Their market includes the same hardware XFree86 is writing  
servers for.

>  The reason for the system vendors to
> fund X was so that each of them increased their own chances of being
> involved in a networked graphical environment, and the source code was
> made freely available as a way to foster the interoperability and
> because the project came from an academic background, which requires the
> free flow of information.  However, the model breaks down if one member
> has a lot of customers and makes no contribution.  At that point, the
> other members are funding the freeloader.

Of course, in this case, XFree86 *has* made large contributions - and in  
an area where all the others haven't done any contributions.

IMO, it's the others who are the freeloaders.

I think I'll stop here. It's pretty useless debating with someone who  
misrepresents so many basic issues.


MfG Kai


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