GPLv2§2(a) does not say what you think it says

Posted Nov 7, 2024 12:49 UTC (Thu) by bkuhn (subscriber, #58642)
In reply to: GPLv2§2(a) does not say what you think it says by paulj
Parent article: The OpenWrt One system

> The text of the GPLv2 can stay unchanged, but the practical requirements of meeting it can easily change, given the GPLv2 refers to customary practice wrt software interchange.

GPLv2 refers to “customarily” only in GPLv2§3(a). Indeed …
…
> It's as daft as arguing that because mailing out tape with a tar file was acceptable in the 80s that it's acceptable today.

… no one (particularly, not me) was arguing in this thread that 8mm tape (or other software delivery methods common in the 1980s and 1990s) are still “customarily used for software interchange”.

We were talking about GPLv2§2(a), not GPLv2§3(a).

And, FWIW, I've been doing GPL enforcement and compliance as my primary work activity since 1997, and I have never seen anyone argue before that you have to interpret GPLv2§2(a) using the language in GPLv2§3(a). I'm open-minded to it, as it is common for one part of an agreement to influence interpretation of other parts, but there are lot of dots to connect to make a successful argument that the wording of GPLv2§3(a) somehow influences GPLv2§2(a) — and you've not connected those dots.