6 ms·

What bullshit. Does requiring users to agree to GPL or LGPL license make a software non-free?

by btian 14y ago

curiousdannii 14y ago
Users of GPL/LGPL don't have to agree to anything. Only distributors of GPL/LGPL software do.
- reidrac 14y ago
  Yes, that's true. Most people misunderstand the license, being my favourite: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#GPLRequireSourcePostedPublic http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#GPLRequireSourcePos... EDIT: just in case... "You are not required to accept this License in order to receive or run a copy of the Program.", point 9 of the GPLv3: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html
  - btian 14y ago
    You guys are right, I was wrong. As others have pointed out, Android SDK has never been free software and Android SDK != Android
jpalomaki 14y ago
Does not seem to be GPL, here's just one clause: 3.4 You agree that you will not take any actions that may cause or result in the fragmentation of Android, including but not limited to distributing, participating in the creation of, or promoting in any way a software development kit derived from the SDK. You end up making quite broad promises (IMHO) by just clicking through to download the SDK.
- marshray 14y ago
  If only Sun had thought to include those magic words "You agree that you will not take any actions that may cause or result in the fragmentation of Java" in the JDK/JRE download web pages then Sun v. Microsoft and Oracle v. Google would have turned out differently? If not, then what does this wording even mean in practice?
kryptiskt 14y ago
You don't think this kind of open-ended language makes it pretty non-free: "You agree that you will not take any actions that may cause or result in the fragmentation of Android, including but not limited to distributing, participating in the creation of, or promoting in any way a software development kit derived from the SDK." Any action? Promoting? Does this mean that I can't write a blog post about developing for Kindle Fire? Hell, can I even buy a Kindle Fire and not break these terms (or install Cyanogenmod) seeing that it is just "including but not limited to" the SDK itself?
Tyrannosaurs 14y ago
You don't have to agree to the GPL to use the software - it explicitly states this - just to redistribute or modify it.
- marshray 14y ago
  Somewhere long ago someone raised the point that the GPL doesn't actually give you the right to use the covered software. Is it conceivable that a company could offer source via GPL yet demand a separate license for the right to use it?
  - andyzweb 14y ago
    Section 2 of the GPLv3 >This License explicitly affirms your unlimited permission to run the unmodified Program. it also protects your freedom to modify and run modified versions of the software

What bullshit. Does requiring users to agree to GPL or LGPL license make a software non-free?

by btian 14y ago

What bullshit. Does requiring users to agree to GPL or LGPL license make a software non-free?

curiousdannii 14y ago

Users of GPL/LGPL don't have to agree to anything. Only distributors of GPL/LGPL software do.

reidrac 14y ago
Yes, that's true. Most people misunderstand the license, being my favourite: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#GPLRequireSourcePostedPublic http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#GPLRequireSourcePos... EDIT: just in case... "You are not required to accept this License in order to receive or run a copy of the Program.", point 9 of the GPLv3: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html
- btian 14y ago
  You guys are right, I was wrong. As others have pointed out, Android SDK has never been free software and Android SDK != Android

jpalomaki 14y ago

Does not seem to be GPL, here's just one clause: 3.4 You agree that you will not take any actions that may cause or result in the fragmentation of Android, including but not limited to distributing, participating in the creation of, or promoting in any way a software development kit derived from the SDK. You end up making quite broad promises (IMHO) by just clicking through to download the SDK.

marshray 14y ago
If only Sun had thought to include those magic words "You agree that you will not take any actions that may cause or result in the fragmentation of Java" in the JDK/JRE download web pages then Sun v. Microsoft and Oracle v. Google would have turned out differently? If not, then what does this wording even mean in practice?

kryptiskt 14y ago

You don't think this kind of open-ended language makes it pretty non-free: "You agree that you will not take any actions that may cause or result in the fragmentation of Android, including but not limited to distributing, participating in the creation of, or promoting in any way a software development kit derived from the SDK." Any action? Promoting? Does this mean that I can't write a blog post about developing for Kindle Fire? Hell, can I even buy a Kindle Fire and not break these terms (or install Cyanogenmod) seeing that it is just "including but not limited to" the SDK itself?

Tyrannosaurs 14y ago

You don't have to agree to the GPL to use the software - it explicitly states this - just to redistribute or modify it.

marshray 14y ago
Somewhere long ago someone raised the point that the GPL doesn't actually give you the right to use the covered software. Is it conceivable that a company could offer source via GPL yet demand a separate license for the right to use it?
- andyzweb 14y ago
  Section 2 of the GPLv3 >This License explicitly affirms your unlimited permission to run the unmodified Program. it also protects your freedom to modify and run modified versions of the software