On 3 June 2011 18:21, Noel J. Bergman <n...@devtech.com> wrote: > Ian Lynch wrote: > > > Noel J. Bergman: > > > Sam Ruby wrote: > > > > From my perspective, I think the license discussion is the essential > > > > one. TDF is now in the position where it has a historic opportunity > > > > to change their license to the Apache License. > > > > > > As I understand it, TDF should certainly be able to "replace" their > > > original LGPL license from Oracle with the Apache License. > > > > > > But I have questions about their ability to relicense new > contributions, > > > based on what I read at > > > http://www.libreoffice.org/get-involved/developers/ and the licensing > > > policy linked from there. It does not seem clear to me that TDF can > > > unilaterally relicense all contributions. > > > At least to start with they don't need to change anything. > > No, they don't. But, to re-quote Sam, they now have the "historic > opportunity to change their license to the Apache License", which makes it > much easier to (quoting you, now), "cooperate with ASF to make the two > projects work as harmoniously as possible." > > At least some folks at TDF seem to feel slighted by recent developments. I > understand, but they should not, at least from the ASF's perspective. TDF > did nothing wrong, and there is nothing wrong with TDF. They did the best > that they could with the licensing cards dealt to them. That situation has > now changed, with the software grant to the ASF and resulting change in > licensing. > > That change is essential to various parties, and while it should not be > taken to reflect negatively on TDF, nor can it be ignored. The license is, > as Sam said, "essential." > > As Sam said, if TDF is willing and able to relicense, "all sorts of > frictionless exchange would be possible, and all sorts of divisions of > labor > could be contemplated. In fact, the division of labor could be dynamic in > that we could experiment with all sorts of different arrangements and find > out what works best." > > Which is why I raised the question regarding TDF's ability to relicense all > of the contributions it has received. >
I think that is a step further on. To start with we need TDF to feel less threatened by all this. Let's relax and work together and see what comes out of the licensing issues. Whether or not they want to change their license they are colleagues and friends first and foremost. I think we all need to respect that these decisions are for TDF to make in their own good time. In the mean time we have to first get commitment to work together on things as they stand. -- Ian Ofqual Accredited IT Qualifications The Schools ITQ www.theINGOTs.org +44 (0)1827 305940 You have received this email from the following company: The Learning Machine Limited, Reg Office, 36 Ashby Road, Tamworth, Staffordshire, B79 8AQ. Reg No: 05560797, Registered in England and Wales.
