[Space-app] Things they don't teach you in Open Source school....

[Riley L. <ri...@co...>]

I've discovered that someone is breaking the license to Space.app and 
I'd like your advice.

There is a program called "Virtual Desktops" (NOT the same as "Codetek 
Virtual Desktops") which has "borrowed" substantial code from Space.app. 
The source of the program is not available (it's a closed-source 
shareware program), but an examination of binary with class-dump and 
otool indicates that the "Space" and "SpaceProcess" class have been 
incorporated with only slight modifications. Here is a sample:

	http://www.codeclever.com/separated.html

I confronted the author (Roger O'Brien, aka "whitesaint") via email. He 
initially denied that he had taken anything from Space.app, but after I 
showed him the "Separated" page he admitted that he did and he pleaded 
with me not to "put [him] in jail". (He is a teenager.)

I explained to him the steps I saw as necessary to bring "Virtual 
Desktops" into compliance with the QPL, to wit:

	- The present version of "Virtual Desktops" should be re-released 
under an Open Source (i.e. 	satisfying 6a and 6b) license.

	- A copy of the QPL, any additional license, and a notice about the 
availability of the source
	 code should be added to the binary distribution.

	- A distribution of the source code should be prepared including 
the QPL license and any
	 additional license.

	- The modified classes from Space.app should have their original 
copyright notice intact and
	 should be commented in some way to indicate that they have been 
altered from the originals.

He agreed that he would do it within 2 weeks (on July 12), but then he 
stopped responding to emails. I also asked him to cease distributing the 
license-breaking binaries, but he has not acknowledged this request and 
the program is still available from his web site:

	http://www.cocoaserver.com

(Use Internet Explorer for this site -- OmniWeb and Chimera, or at least 
the versions that I am using, don't display it correctly.)

I think I made a mistake in dealing with Roger: I felt sorry for him and 
I told him that I had never heard of anyone going to jail for breaking 
an Open Source license. I didn't want him to be scared. I haven't heard 
from him since. Yes, I understand that I am a total sucker. I sentence 
myself to loading Oingo Boingo's "Only a Lad" (a song satirizing lenient 
juvenile justice) into iTunes and playing it on repeat until I am no 
longer disturbed by its endorsement of capital punishment.

But really -- my question for you is: What is to be done? I feel like I 
would be setting a bad example if I let the license be infringed like 
this. Even if it is "Only a Lad".

Thanks for your help,

Riley Lynch