Nathanael Nerode <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > What do you mean? In order to gain the licenses GPL grants you, you > > must comply with all of the terms. Some of those terms require that you > > perform in some way, e.g. by distributing source code. > > Actually, as far as I can tell, they don't. They grant permission to do > specific things which you otherwise have no permission to do (such as > distributing source code). Interestingly, every restriction in the GPL I > could find is merely a restriction on what activities it permits you to do; > they do not restrict your outside activities. If you accept the license, > the things you are then permitted to do are a *strict superset* of the > things you were permitted to do before.
Sort of, but please consider it more closely. First, the GPL states explicitly that you must "accept" the terms or that you do not get permission to do anything with the code. Should we argue with a statement that the text says itself? Second, while acceptance alone does not obligate anything of you, some obligations do kick in if you try to use some of the rights you have been granted. For example, if you take the option to distribute binaries of modifications and then post the source code separately, then you are *obliged* from then onwards to keep the source code available to whoever has received the binary distribution. This is a restriction on your behavior, and that restriction has arisen because you agreed to the terms of the GPL. You have gained the right to distribute binary-only copies, but in compensation you have agreed to post the source code somewhere. IANAL, but calling this anything but a contract seems to really confuse matters. Let's try and focus on what the real issue is, which is not some technical legal distinction. Further, the general principle has not been established to my satisfaction that a reasonably free license must have absolutely no strings attached. If it's only minor requirements, along the same annoyance level as advertising clauses, then surely the license agreement is still okay. -Lex
