Raul Miller wrote: >> Raul Miller wrote: >> > On Mon, May 10, 2004 at 09:44:27AM -0700, Josh Triplett wrote: >> > >> >>Unless the derived document falls under section 7, "AGGREGATION WITH >> >>INDEPENDENT WORKS" (which requires that more than half of the document >> >>consists of independent work not derived from the GFDLed document), you >> >>must put the covers around the entire derived work, not just part of >> >>it. >> > >> > This is a solvable problem. > > On Mon, May 10, 2004 at 11:55:28AM -0700, Josh Triplett wrote: >> How would you suggest solving it, given that you should be able to make >> a derived work of the document as a whole without just referencing it? > > There are at least three solutions: > > [1] Add more original content That's an interesting, if certifiably bad, solution; add more junk to fill the page count. Ow.
> [2] Let the document be referenced under its original title. We accept licenses which require retitling. I do not think we can accept a license which prohibits retitling, as that would require inaccuracy (again). > [3] Strip out more of the bulk from the GFDL document. Only works if there's strippable bulk. >> (Also note that even if this "workaround" works and you only need to >> include the Cover Texts and Invariant Sections in an appendix, that >> would still be non-free; this "workaround" only solves the inaccuracy >> problem, not the Freeness problem.) > > I agree that this is independent of the freeness issue. > >> > Exactly. >> >> A Free license should allow you to create a derivative work of the >> document, instead of just referring to it. > > It does. It should allow you to create most any derivative work you want, with very limited restrictions. These do not seem like limited restrictions. :-P >> For example, you should be >> able to write a manpage for "ls" based on the coreutils documentation, >> without including the entire document in an "appendix" of the manpage, >> or including the Cover Texts on the "front and back covers" of the >> manpage. > > Coreutils documentation is not at all structured like a man page. > I think it would be better to copy the ideas and not the content. Fine. To do that, you don't need free documentation; that can be done with *any* documentation. Ideas are not copyrightable. Please do this so that we will have a Free coreutils manpage. For the documentation to be *free*, you need to be able to make a derivative work. > >> It should also be possible to take the entire GNU coreutils >> manual, and modify it to document a different implementation of the same >> commands, without having to include inaccurate Cover Texts or Invariant >> Sections (or accurate ones either, for that matter). > > This line of thought has potential, but a concrete practical instance How is the one he just mentioned not concrete or practical? Alternate BSD implementations of most of GNU coreutils exist. I would like to modify the GNU coreutils manual to document them, but I would have to include these Cover Texts and Invariant Sections. > (with some specific reference to some DFSG clause(s)) would probably help. > <snip> -- There are none so blind as those who will not see.
