Re: [AD] giftware license

[Elias Pschernig <allefant@xxxxxxxxxx>]

On Fri, 01 Oct 2004 18:35:09 +0200, Michal Molhanec <michal@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
> I though about it and I think it should be really near to the licence.
> If it will be in FAQ nobody will read it. Or what creating separate page
> for disclaimer + licence + this minifaq?
> 

Yes.. but if we put a reference (which will turn into a direct link in
the HTML docs, I think that can be done with makedoc) it can easily be
found - while still having this in the appropriate section (which is
the FAQ).

> 
> OK, what about this wording:
> 
> Does the licence mean that Allegro is public domain?
>    No. Every Allegro contributor holds its copyright for the code he or
>    she wrote. He or she only grants you rights to use for any purpose
>    you want. The fact that the contributor has its copyrights means
>    that you e.g. cannot claim that you wrote his code.
> 

Ah, yes, that's better, since now the difference is clear to someone
who doesn't know the difference of copyright and license.

> 
> did you red the giftware thread on the opensource.org mailing list?
> it there clearly explained that there are two independent things:
> 1) copyright. in many countries you have copyright automatically and for
> all your life and you _cannot_ give it up (e.g. here in Czech
> Republic). (and the allegro licence never said anything like that the
> contributors give up their copyrights)
> 2) rights to use
> 

Hm. I see. Still, let's just remove that last sentence about public domain.
It will cause more confusion than information - since many don't know
what exactly public domain means and use it as synonym for open source.
The other question specifically about public domain should be explanation
enough.

> > I think, also a related question would be good:
> >
> > Is Allegro open source (OSI) compatible?
> >
> > See the previous question. Since Allegro is compatible with about any
> > license, it also is ISO compatible. It clearly is compatible to all the
> > points in the OSD (open source definition). You can search the OSI
> > mailing list for "Allegro" to see that OSI shares this view. (OSI
> > officials still were reluctant to consider it for approval though and
> > suggested to use a more restrictive license like MIT instead.)
> >
> 
> good point!
> 

I attached a new patch against faq._tx - it has the above changes, and
some revised wording (but I'm no native speaker as well). And while
reading it again, I'm wondering about that last disclaimer (which I
guess is out of GPL or MIT).. it's much less understandable than the
one with the dog :P Maybe we should instead try to explain what it
means?

Index: docs/src/faq._tx
===================================================================
RCS file: /cvsroot/alleg/allegro/docs/src/faq._tx,v
retrieving revision 1.37
diff -u -r1.37 faq._tx
--- docs/src/faq._tx	28 Apr 2004 08:30:21 -0000	1.37
+++ docs/src/faq._tx	1 Oct 2004 20:48:19 -0000
@@ -52,6 +52,60 @@
 </div>
 
 
+@heading
+The giftware licence
+
+   The Allegro licence is absolutely clear unless you are lawyer.
+   However it's written quite informal so this mini-FAQ tries to
+   make some things absolutely clear.
+
+<div class="faq-shift-to-right">
+@@   Does the licence mean that Allegro is public domain?
+      No. Every Allegro contributor holds the copyright for the code he or
+      she wrote. This means he or she grants you the right to use it for
+      any purpose you want. But the fact that the contributor holds the
+      copyright means that you cannot claim that you wrote the code.
+
+@@   Can I use Allegro for commercial purposes?
+      Yes.
+
+@@   Is Allegro compatible with licence XXX (e.g. GPL)?
+      Because the Allegro licence has no restrictions on use you can combine
+      it with any licence you want.
+
+@@   Is Allegro open source (OSI) compatible?
+      See the previous question. Since Allegro is compatible with about any
+      license, it also is OSI compatible. It clearly is compatible to all the
+      points in the OSD (open source definition). You can search the OSI
+      mailing list for "Allegro" to see that OSI shares this view. (OSI
+      officials still were reluctant to consider it for approval though and
+      suggested to use an existing license like MIT instead.)
+
+@@   How are modifications of the library licensed?
+      You can modify Allegro and distribute the modified Allegro under
+      any licence you want, but the original unmodified parts will still
+      be licenced under the Allegro licence. If you offer your
+      modifications to be included in the official Allegro distribution
+      (e.g. by sending them to the Allegro developers mailing list) you
+      automatically agree with licencing the modification under the
+      Allegro licence.
+
+@\   I don't see any disclaimer here. I will sue you because Allegro has
+@@   destroyed my PC!
+      Sorry, look at the beginnig of the documentation. The disclaimer is
+      there. If you think it is too informal, we provide a more formal
+      version:
+<blockquote class="text"><i>
+THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS 
+OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS
+IN THE SOFTWARE.
+</i></blockquote>
+</div>
+
 
 @heading
 DJGPP problems