> -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of > Hank Cohen > Sent: Monday, June 12, 2006 9:10 PM > To: misc@openbsd.org > Subject: Hifn policy on documentation > > Folks, > There has been some discussion of late on this list about Hifn's policy > with respect to releasing documentation to the general public. That > discussion lead to a great deal of uninformed speculation and > unflattering statement's about Hifn's unfriendliness towards the open > source community. I would like to set the record straight.
Mr. Cohen, Perhaps you can talk to your legal counsel and actually break out the documentation needed for these open source drivers into a separate and truly open to the "general public" anonymous download site. I doubt that the documentation that is being requested by developers is putting you in violation of US Export Regulations. Your customer's locations can be tracked through the distribution network of your chips and devices that you already have in place. OpenBSD is not selling, reselling, or modifying your products. Nor is OpenBSD asking to download drivers or other source code that you may provide to others. I understand it's very easy these days for attorneys to just say put everything behind your registration only access extranet to be safe. This is not acceptable and, in my opinion, is not open to the general public like you stated. It might take some effort on your part and that of your legal counsel and compliance officers to keep the open source community happy and the US Government off your back, but I think you'll find it will be worth it in the end. You obviously care how the people reading this list perceive your company and products or you wouldn't have written that letter; now please take it a step further in the right direction. Regards, Michael Scheliga
