Re: [Flightgear-devel] Flightgear

[Torsten D. <to...@t3...>]

Hi Alan,

a few thoughts and please take them as my personal ones, not an official
statement (however, I hope they are pretty much in-line with the
communities point of view).

Regarding GPL:
FlightGear has been GPL from its beginning and it was an excellent choice.
I have heard a statement from another GPL project: "Contributions are
welcome but if the are not licensed as GPL, we are not interested. No
matter how excellent they are." Sounds a bit harsh but brings it down to
the point.

Regarding Military Aircraft:
We had this discussions on this list a few years ago and IIRC its result
was:
Military aircraft are an important part of aviation and have their place in
FlightGear. However, we want to focus on the aviation part. Modelling
weapons and it's effects w.r.t. weight, C/G, drag etc. is fine. We do not
focus on the disruptive effects of weapons and if those effects are
modeled, those MUST be on opt-in for other users. Look at our project page
at SourceForge: I have linked Richard's video about his F15 as a
representation of FlightGears capabilities. A great video, a fantastic
aircraft and no need for cheap effects.

Regarding the role of core-developers:
I don't agree with your statement and I don't think that more formalization
will lead to better cooperation. I believe that it's the lack of the former
that took us were we are now. That's probably because deep in my heart, I
have an aversion against any kind of strong leadership :)

Kind Regards,
Torsten