Russ Allbery wrote: > Lewis Jardine <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > >> I find it unlikely that people intelligent enough to write software as >> complex as Apache, Sendmail, Linux, Thunderbird, etc. would license >> their software under a license they haven't fully read, or don't fully >> understand. I (and, in my opinion, any 'reasonable person') must assume >> that when an author releases under the GPL, he intends to permit any >> modification of the program (including the removal of run-time >> advertisements), as the GPL states. > > The GPL is actually a rather interesting case here, since it *does* > require the preservation of credits, and in a way that I believe Debian > finds acceptably free. > > | 2. You may modify your copy or copies of the Program or any portion > | of it, thus forming a work based on the Program, and copy and > | distribute such modifications or work under the terms of Section 1 > | above, provided that you also meet all of these conditions: > | > | [...] > | > | c) If the modified program normally reads commands interactively > | when run, you must cause it, when started running for such > | interactive use in the most ordinary way, to print or display an > | announcement including an appropriate copyright notice and a > | notice that there is no warranty (or else, saying that you provide > | a warranty) and that users may redistribute the program under > | these conditions, and telling the user how to view a copy of this > | License. (Exception: if the Program itself is interactive but > | does not normally print such an announcement, your work based on > | the Program is not required to print an announcement.) > > In fact, on first glance, I'm not sure that I understand the difference > between Debian's inclusion of software which triggers GPL 2c (such as bc) > and a similar clause for non-interactive programs. Maybe I'm missing some > previous discussion?
Well, first of all we don't really like programs which trigger 2c. Second, and much more important, non-interactive programs often have defined output. A similar credits requirement on a non-interactive program can make it outright impossible to make the code produce the necessary defined output. -- There are none so blind as those who will not see.
