Re: [htdig-dev] libhtdig & GPL License

[Neal R. <ne...@ri...>]

> > With the branching of mifluz and libhtdig an LGPL license seems
> > more appropriate.  Using the LGPL license would encourage the use of
> > libhtdig & the mifluz library by the widest possible set of developers,
> > hopefully enhancing the project's quality and feature set.
> 
> I'm not sure that mifluz will be relicensed under the LGPL. Keep in mind 
> that it's now "GNU mifluz."

	I noticed that.. but what I did also notice is that I didn't see
that the mifluz code officially had copyright assigned to the
FSF.
	If not, Loic is free to relicense the source however he
choses as the copyright holder... and since milfuz is a derivative work of
HtDig, this group would also have some say.

	Loic, comments or feedback?

> So in order to get a new license for ht://Dig as a whole, I think you'd 
> need to see a few things happen first:
> a) mifluz dual licensed.
> b) Andrew agree to allow an LGPL for his code in ht://Dig.
> 
> This is, of course, ignoring the question of other contributors, which 
> are many.
>

	Yes.. forming a steering committee gives that committee the
'authority' to make decisions on behalf of the "ht://Dig Group" which
consists of people who have contributed code.

 
> I'm not a lawyer, nor do I want to be one. I would suggest that a scheme 
> more in line with previous practice would be at a minimum that the 
> htdig-dev list should vote on such a steering committee. This may, in 
> fact, be little more than a "rubber stamp," but I would also think major 
> decisions such as relicensing should require more general votes as well. 
> (I look towards Debian, for example.)

	A nomination and voting process (ala Debian) of the committee
would certainly be a very fair way to do things!

> I don't think most of us would know the benefits/drawbacks of being an 
> official non-profit. I am aware that this would probably entail some 
> paperwork overhead in terms of tax purposes in the U.S. Also keep in 
> mind that many contributors are not in the U.S. and as such may not wish 
> to be bound to various U.S. regulations.

	Yes.. it's was just an idea.  I'm not sure exactly what kind of
organization Debian is, but it works for them.. with all it's world-wide
contributors.  OpenBSD looks to be a formal Candian non-profit.

> I understand some of the motivations for such moves, but personally 
> before there's much talk about licenses, I'd want to know that a license 
> change would even be possible. If mifluz is completely GPL'ed, period, 
> then there's not much a steering committee for ht://Dig could do.

	Again, that depends on if Loic has assigned mifluz copyrights to
the FSF.  FSF certainly encourages that, but there are examples of 'GNU'
projects where that is not the case.

	My main motivation is a library style release of htdig could have
a LGPL and not compromize the spirit of the project.

	There are of course workarounds... making libhtdig/htdig a
server.. that are possible, but lots of work.

Thanks.

-- 
Neal Richter 
Knowledgebase Developer
RightNow Technologies, Inc.
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