Re: Fwd: reiser4 non-free?

[Hans Reiser <reiser@namesys.com>]

Michael, you are much more eloquent than I am.  Thanks for understanding.

Hans

Michael Milverton wrote:

>Is this the licencing in question?
>
>###
>Finally, nothing in this license shall be interpreted to allow you to
>fail to fairly credit me, or to remove my credits such as by creating
>a front end that hides my credits from the user or renaming mkreiser4
>to mkyourcompanyfs or even just make_filesystem, without my
>permission, unless you are an end user not redistributing to others.
>If you have doubts about how to properly do that, or about what is
>fair, ask.  (Last I spoke with him Richard was contemplating how best
>to address the fair crediting issue in the next GPL version.)
>
>Also, a clustering file system built to work on top of this file
>system shall be considered a derivative work for the purposes of
>interpreting the GPL license granted herein.  Plugins are also to be
>considered derivative works.  Share code or pay money, we give you the
>choice.
>###
>
>I read this as meaning the following. Nobody is allowed to take the product 
>that we produce and rename it into something else, thereby making it look as 
>though it really belongs to someone else. 
>
>The way I read the GPL is that it is essentially giving you the freedom to 
>copy change and modify the code as long you pass this freedom along.
>
>I do not see how the addition of this request for not altering the product 
>name by renaming it something else is in contradiction with the GPL. The way 
>I read the GPL, it would still be possible to create a new program that 
>contained reiser4 code and call it something else as long as the code was 
>free. All it appears that is being asked is to not change the name of the 
>product itself. This is the moral and right thing to do. The GPL licence also 
>makes its intent and purpose clear in the following statement
>
>##
>Thus, it is not the intent of this section to claim rights or contest your 
>rights to work written entirely by you; rather, the intent is to exercise the 
>right to control the distribution of derivative or collective works based on 
>the Program. 
>##
>
>Nothing in what Hans has requested would restrict the distribution of 
>derivative or collective works based on the program. This is what the GPL is 
>in essence trying to exercise control over eg to distribute derivative or 
>collective works. As it states it does not have the intention to claim rights 
>or contest the rights of the person/people who wrote the program. I would 
>seem to think that if you strip credits and rename the actual product itself, 
>eg NOT a derivitave work then you are taking the rights away from the person 
>who wrote it.
>
>Anyway apart from the technical aspect I believe there is a more fundamental 
>issue that should not be swept under the carpet and this is that it is clear 
>that people are prepared to essentially exploit the hardwork of other people 
>and it is these people who are going against the spirit of the GPL. What is 
>the point of having the code copyrighted to Hans Reiser in the source code 
>when all the end user gets to see is that this software is called company X.
>
>I think people need to be more sensitive to the feelings of people that put 
>such a huge amount of heart and soul into their software and not be so quick 
>in dismissing their concerns. If people do not feel heard and do not feel 
>that their contribution is essentially meaningful then it takes away one of 
>the biggest motivations for releasing their hard work as Free Software.
>
>
>Thankyou
>And by the way if I could spell I would have spelt it right in the first 
>place.
>
>Thankyou
>Michael Milverton
>
>  
>