Re: [Savannah-hackers] savannah.gnu.org: submission of Zinac

[Simon Perreault]

On Wednesday 19 December 2001 09:16, Jaime E. Villate wrote:
> > Other License: GNU GPL v2 (not any later version, at least not without me
> > reviewing it first)
>
> With that restriction, I'm afraid we cannot host your project in this
> server. Please, keep in mind that the author of a program is always
> under control of which license he uses;

This is very important to me: I want to stay in control of the license my 
program will use. That's why I chose to license it under the GPL version 2 
and not whatever other version. Without implying anything, what if I disagree 
with some ascpects of a future version of the GPL? I simply can't trust the 
FSF that much, you'll understand this to be self-evident.

As long as my program is licensed under the GPL version 2, I don't understand 
why you would refuse to host my program on Savannah.

> that clause in the GPL license is
> not meant to deprive you of that control, but rather as a protective
> measure in case some legal flaw is found in the GPL that may jeopardize the
> free distribution of programs previously released.

I understand all the good intentions involved in that clause. However, you 
must surely understand that, with all due respect, I can't trust the FSF with 
the task of licensing my program appropriately. I choose to assume that task 
myself, and I choose to use the GPL version 2. If, after having reviewed 
later versions, I judge that the changes are just and fair, then I will 
probably "upgrade" the license.

I think you'll see that my needs are justified. I also see the truth in your 
position: what if the GPL is flawed? Then all previous releases would be 
flawed. But I ask of you something: if I include the clause, and GPL version 
3 is released, will the terms of the GPL version 3 automatically apply to 
previous versions? Does the "or" mean that the user is bound to the latest 
version of the GPL, or that the user can choose between the version 2 or any 
other later version? If you answer the latter, you will recognize that 
including the clause has absolutely no effect.

I hope you will not consider this as a conflict with the rules of Savannah: 
as long as my program is licensed under the GPL version 2, it is a part of 
the free software vision.

Regards,
-- 
Simon Perreault  <address@hidden>
Web: http://www.linuxquebec.com/~nomis80
PGP: $Web/nomis80.gpg