Re: GGPL (was: [tlug] nihonlinux)

[Ryan Shaw <ryan.shaw@example.com>]

On Wed, 2002-10-30 at 16:19, Charles Muller wrote:

> > With yet another licensing model:
> > 
> > http://www.ggpl.org/
> > 
> > I've heard about Aizu, they're doing great research up there, but why
> > would the Public need a License for its Greater Good?
> 
> At a recent conference, I met some of the people who were involved in the
> writing of this GGPL license. It's basically an extension of the GPL that
> tries to make a statement about the products that one makes not only being
> kept open for the use of others, but also that they not be used to trample
> on the rights of others, damage the environment, etc. A bit extreme, I
> admit, but their intentions are good. They are all, of course, exclusively
> Linux and Free Software users.

While I admire the good intentions of these folks, if 
they are releasing code under this license which is 
linked to GPL code, they are violating the GPL. The GPL 
is not compatible with licenses that seek to add 
restrictions on what users can do with the licensed
code. 

It doesn't matter if these restrictions are "good" (i.e. 
don't use this code to kill baby seals) or "bad" (i.e. 
don't even *think* about reverse engineering this code).
*Any* restrictions are unacceptable (for a license to
be GPL-compatible).

Ryan

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