From kde-devel Sat Jan 07 12:51:49 2006 From: Isaac Clerencia Date: Sat, 07 Jan 2006 12:51:49 +0000 To: kde-devel Subject: Re: [kde-doc-english] Debian, KDE and the GFDL problem Message-Id: <200601071351.49706.isaac () warp ! es> X-MARC-Message: https://marc.info/?l=kde-devel&m=113663836630049 MIME-Version: 1 Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="--===============1311988825==" --===============1311988825== Content-Type: multipart/signed; boundary="nextPart5471281.tIulvt58fx"; protocol="application/pgp-signature"; micalg=pgp-sha1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit --nextPart5471281.tIulvt58fx Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Disposition: inline Hi Lauri :) On Saturday, 7 January 2006 13:39, Lauri Watts wrote: > The FDL, with the above terms, is the only license currently in use in KD= E, > although there are some legacy documents licensed under the GPL. > > Before this goes any further, can you please show me where (and why) debi= an > believes the GFDL *with no invariant sections and no front/back cover > texts* is a non-free license? http://people.debian.org/~srivasta/Position_Statement.xhtml Quoting from there: "The problems with the GFDL fall into three major categories, which are=20 treated in detail below." The DRM Restriction =2D------------------ Section 2 (VERBATIM COPYING) of the GFDL goes beyond the traditional source= =20 requirement in copyleft licenses in an important way: according to the GFDL= =20 no copy may ever be subject to "technical measures to obstruct or control"= =20 reading and copying. This means that:=20 * It is not limited to the act of distribution (i.e., it applies to privat= e=20 copies as well).=20 * It rules out the possibility that a version be distributed on some form = of=20 DRM media (for technical reasons, perhaps), even while providing source=20 (i.e., a transparent copy) in an unencumbered way at the same time.=20 * As written, it would outlaw actions like changing the permission of a co= py=20 of the document on your machine, storing it on an encrypted file system,=20 distributing a copy over an encrypted link (Obstruct or control the reading= =20 is not clarified to apply merely to the recipient), or even storing it on a= =20 file-sharing system with non-world-readable permissions.=20 Consider that the GFDL currently prohibits distribution on DRM media, as=20 compared to the GPL which requires distribution on non-DRM media. This is a= =20 serious additional restriction. Transparent And Opaque Copies =2D---------------------------- Section 3 (Copying in Quantity) of the GFDL states that it is not enough t= o=20 just put a transparent copy of a document alongside with the opaque version= =20 when you are distributing it (which is all that you need to do for sources= =20 under the GPL, for example). Instead, the GFDL insists that you must someho= w=20 include a machine-readable Transparent copy (i.e., not allow the opaque for= m=20 to be downloaded without the transparent form) or keep the transparent form= =20 available for download at a publicly accessible location for one year after= =20 the last distribution of the opaque form.=20 It is our belief that as long as you make the source and binaries availabl= e=20 so that the users can see what's available and take what they want, you hav= e=20 done what is required of you. It is up to the user whether to download the= =20 transparent form. This is a paraphrase from the GPL FAQ=20 The requirements for redistributors should be to make sure the users can g= et=20 the transparent form, not to force users to download the transparent form=20 even if they don't want it. > For the record, relicensing most of our documentation will be impossible. > There are several people with stated objections to using the GPL for > documentation, many people we have no way of contacting, and a couple who > are no longer alive, which makes them fairly difficult to contact. Yeah, I feared that :( Best regards =2D-=20 Isaac Clerencia at Warp Networks, http://www.warp.es Work: | Debian: --nextPart5471281.tIulvt58fx Content-Type: application/pgp-signature -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.2 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Signed by Isaac Clerencia iD8DBQBDv7llQET2GFTmct4RAjOwAJwKAStRr+5VUEeH9W3ebdwUeilSFACghgpF tvdDgBhrf9OBHnX9sf7W1AU= =i/oc -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- --nextPart5471281.tIulvt58fx-- --===============1311988825== Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline >> Visit http://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-devel#unsub to unsubscribe << --===============1311988825==--