|
|
Subscribe / Log in / New account

A listing of DNS servers

A listing of DNS servers

Posted Jan 28, 2003 12:49 UTC (Tue) by anr (guest, #234)
In reply to: A listing of DNS servers by rickmoen
Parent article: A couple of alternative DNS servers

Please explain what makes you list djbdns under the "proprietary" category. Some points:

* The source code is available to all who want it.
* You can distribute patches (and apply) at will.

It seems to me that a label like "Restricted Open Source" would be closer to the truth.


to post comments

What is free software

Posted Jan 30, 2003 0:33 UTC (Thu) by sam (guest, #1329) [Link]

A lot of DJB advocates seem to be confused about what the general free software community considers free software. The software is not software libre, according to the FSF. The open source web site mentions nothing about DJB's license, since it is not free software as per their definition (look at section three, "derived works").

Let me make this clear: Dan is one of the best programmers out there.

He has an excellent security history. He has many years experience with UNIX and a driving obsession which makes him a very good coder. His DNS notes were very helpful in making my DNS server a better program; while very opinionated, his opinions have merit. I respect him greatly as a coder.

He has understandable reasons to make is software not be libre. Unfortunatly, his code will have a limited appeal until when and if he releases it under a more open license.

- Sam

A listing of DNS servers

Posted Mar 16, 2003 10:59 UTC (Sun) by rickmoen (subscriber, #6943) [Link]

anr asked: Please explain what makes you list djbdns under the "proprietary" category.

Gladly. Prof. Bernstein's terms of usage, while very generous and commendable, do not include the right to fork (Open Source Definition provision #3 -- which is the central concept of open source). Thus, nobody else has the legal right to develop, maintain, and release modified versions. Also, when/if Prof. Bernstein ceases to issue new versions, the project will probably pretty much die for lack of legal right to maintain the code (except in private or as patch files).

Please note that the term "proprietary" is not pejorative: It's a descriptive category, and includes a broad spectrum of licensing types, including Prof. Bernstein's benevolent source-available one on the liberal end.

Prof. Bernstein feels that his abilitiy to control the package's quality justifies this limitation (and he may be right). But, as a result, djbdns/dnscache is most plainly not open source.

As Sam says, Prof. Bernstein's DNS notes are a crucial resource for anyone wanting to truly understand DNS at a technical level, and I join Sam in recommending them to people.

Rick Moen
rick@linuxmafia.com


Copyright © 2025, Eklektix, Inc.
Comments and public postings are copyrighted by their creators.
Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds