Re: [M-dev] Valkyrie (again)

[Loren P. <pe...@ne...>]

On Tue, 9 May 2000, Benjamin J. Matasar wrote:

> 	A sidenote:  if you want to know why we (Free software guys( are
> so touchy, it's because our entire software system (it's a movement, I
> suppose, as well) depends on the GPL being enforcable.  If people are
> allowed to violate it in any way, no matter how trivial, it could have
> vast reprecussions for the Free software community.  So we're touchy by
> nature about the GPL. 

	That reminds me of something interesting. The Astronomy Image 
Processing System, AIPS, is freeware, but its source code had been closed 
for a long time, because its creators feared that some sleazebag might 
make a few minor changes to it, then claim copyright -- something that 
AIPS's creators had claimed had actually happened. Even if AIPS's 
creators would win, they did not want to waste a lot of time and money on 
litigation.

	However, in 1995 or thereabouts, AIPS's creators decided that the 
GPL was suitable legal protection, and released its code under that license.


Loren Petrich				Happiness is a fast Macintosh
pe...@ne...			And a fast train
My home page: http://www.petrich.com/home.html