# HG changeset patch # User Rob Landley # Date 1321347590 21600 # Node ID 6fb2672851d9551b05b5c5b918bc46cfac0d1a6c # Parent 50906d6ad26430fe5baeb5f6a1b6afba89c2eb75 Switch license.html to BSD, and delete the old "FSF screwed over Mepis" rant (which while still true, is no longer relevant). diff -r 50906d6ad264 -r 6fb2672851d9 www/license.html --- a/www/license.html Tue Nov 15 02:38:13 2011 -0600 +++ b/www/license.html Tue Nov 15 02:59:50 2011 -0600 @@ -1,355 +1,23 @@ -

Toybox is licensed under the terms of GPLv2.

- -

The complete text of the General Public License version 2 is included in the -file LICENSE in each source tarball. Version 2 is the only version of this -license which toybox is distributed under. (I.E. It doesn't have the strange -"or later" dual license some projects have.)

- -

The complete text of GPLv2 is at the end of this page.

- -

Clarifications

- -

The GPL is a bit old and crufty in places, but it's still the best open -source license there is, and lots of source code (like the Linux kernel) is -distributed under it. Lots of de facto interpretations have sprung up to deal -with things like the fact that it predates the internet service provider -industry. Nothing in the rest of this page changes the actual license, so you -can ignore the rest of this page if you're happy with a strict reading of -GPLv2. But just to be clear, here's how the authors of this project are -interpreting the sucker where it says something stupid.

- -

Section 1: You have permission to rephrase the license notice on -individual source files. This doesn't mean you can change what license the -code is under, or that you can remove other people's copyright notices. You -certainly can't change the text of the GPL itself. What it means is that if -a file says "see file LICENSE in this tarball for details" and you use this -code in a project that distributes source in zip files instead of -tarballs, or your package's copy of the GPLv2 text isn't in a file called -"LICENSE", it's silly to preserve an obsolete notice verbatim and add some -kind of "correction" after the old notice.

- -

Some lawyers seem to think a strict reading of GPLv2 section 1 (and later -sections including section 1 by reference) requires maintaining old notices in -perpetuity. Even if you had code that used to be dual licensed, but you created -a derived work that's just under one of the two licenses, and thus keeping the -old license notice is not just strange or misleading but actually incorrect for -the new file. (For example, splicing GPLv2 only code into a dual "GPLv2 or -later" project produces a result that can be distributed under the terms of -GPLv2, but not GPLv3. The result of that cannot be distributed under the "or -later" part, so a license notice implying it could is factually wrong.)

- -

I don't know if we're ever going to add any dual licensed code into the tree, -but I want to head that one off now. The actual license text is the important -thing, the per-file notice is a courtesy.

- -

Section 2: We don't put the change history in comments in the source -code, we put it in our source control system. We have source control for a -reason. That's where this information belongs, and that's where we put it. -It's world readable on the web, and you can download a snapshot of the whole -repository if you like. The GPL predates modern source control systems, but -this project does not.

- -

Section 3: We distribute source code through the internet. If -your "written offer" includes a URL, and the source code remains anonymously -downloadable at that location for three years after you stop distributing -binaries, life is good as far as we're concerned. (No, you can't encrypt it, -or require a login, or otherwise be slimy bastards acting in bad faith. We'll -come after you if you're not satisfying the terms of the license, this is just -talking about how you can satisfy those terms without having to mail physical -media circa 1991. Most people are already doing it this way, we're just -being explicit about it.)

- -

If you're wondering why this particular clarification exists, -there's a longer explanation.

- -

Finally, section 9 does not apply to this project. We're specifying -a specific version, it's version 2. There is no "or later versions" clause to -require interpreting, so none of that triggers for us.

- -
-
-		    GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
-		       Version 2, June 1991
-
- Copyright (C) 1989, 1991 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
-     59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA
- Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies
- of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.
-
-			    Preamble
+
Toybox is licensed under a simple 2-clause MIT/BSD style license:

 
-  The licenses for most software are designed to take away your
-freedom to share and change it.  By contrast, the GNU General Public
-License is intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change free
-software--to make sure the software is free for all its users.  This
-General Public License applies to most of the Free Software
-Foundation's software and to any other program whose authors commit to
-using it.  (Some other Free Software Foundation software is covered by
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-your programs, too.
-
-  When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not
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-if you want it, that you can change the software or use pieces of it
-in new free programs; and that you know you can do these things.
-
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-anyone to deny you these rights or to ask you to surrender the rights.
-These restrictions translate to certain responsibilities for you if you
-distribute copies of the software, or if you modify it.
-
-  For example, if you distribute copies of such a program, whether
-gratis or for a fee, you must give the recipients all the rights that
-you have.  You must make sure that they, too, receive or can get the
-source code.  And you must show them these terms so they know their
-rights.
-
-  We protect your rights with two steps: (1) copyright the software, and
-(2) offer you this license which gives you legal permission to copy,
-distribute and/or modify the software.
-
-  Also, for each author's protection and ours, we want to make certain
-that everyone understands that there is no warranty for this free
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-patent must be licensed for everyone's free use or not licensed at all.
+

+
Copyright (C) 2006 by Rob Landley <rob@landley.net>
 
-  The precise terms and conditions for copying, distribution and
-modification follow.
-
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-   TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING, DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION
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+
Permission to use, copy, modify, and/or distribute this software for any
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+
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES
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+OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.

+

 
-  6. Each time you redistribute the Program (or any work based on the
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-			    NO WARRANTY
-
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-
-		     END OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS
-
+

The text of this license is included in the file LICENSE in the source.

diff -r 50906d6ad264 -r 6fb2672851d9 www/licenserant.html --- a/www/licenserant.html Tue Nov 15 02:38:13 2011 -0600 +++ /dev/null Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000 @@ -1,54 +0,0 @@ - - -

The reason for the clarification of section 3 is that -what the FSF did to Mepis was inexcusable. (Further discussed -in this -thread.)

- -

A small Linux distributor named Mepis (more or less a guy in his garage) -partnered with a big linux distributor called Ubuntu (multi-million dollar -company with offices in more than one country). Mepis put out a press release -quoting Ubuntu's founder about how cool the partnership was, and then Mepis -pointed to Ubuntu's source repository for GPL packages it was using unmodified -Ubuntu versions of. And the FSF went after them.

- -

As far as we're concerned, Mepis didn't do anything wrong, and the FSF -was a bully. The FSF was wrong when it tried to make an example out of a -company that was acting in good faith.

- -

To make sure the FSF doesn't pick on anyone else against our wishes, we're -clarifying that if you didn't modify the source code, and the binaries you're -distributing can be entirely regenerated from a public upstream source, -pointing to that upstream source in good faith is good enough for us. As -long as the upstream source doesn't object to the extra bandwidth, -and the correct source code stays available at that location you specify -for the duration of your responsiblity to redistribute source, life is good.

- -

There are a few common sense caveats. This doesn't mean it's fair for a -Fortune 500 company to point millions of people at somebody's home DSL line -(certainly not without asking first). And if the source that's available there -is not the complete corresponding source to the binaries you distributed, then -obviously you haven't fulfilled your obligations by pointing to some _other_ -source. (If you modified it, we want the patch, and claiming you didn't -modify it when you actually did would be fraud.) And if the code stops being -available at that location, you're not off the hook and have to find a new -location or put up your own mirror.

- -

So this is not a "get out of jail free" card: It's still your responsibility -to make the complete corresponding source available. We're just saying you can -reasonably delegate to something like Sourceforge or ibilbio, and as long as -everyone who wants the source can get it, we're happy. If the site you point -to objects or goes down, responsibility obviously reverts to you. But there -are plenty of high-bandwidth places that mirror open source for free these -days: sourceforge, OSL, ISC, ibiblio, archive.org, and so on.

- -

Oh, one last note: if people come to you asking "where's the source" -and your answer doesn't satisfy them, ask yourself "did I identify which -specific version I used, and if I didn't modify it at all did I explicitly -tell them this"? If you don't identify the source you used in enough detail -for open source developers to reproduce what you did, you haven't complied with -your license obligations yet. Identifying the specific source you used -is a very important part of the "written offer" bit that often gets -overlooked.

- -