lkml.org 
[lkml]   [1998]   [Jul]   [14]   [last100]   RSS Feed
Views: [wrap][no wrap]   [headers]  [forward] 
 
Messages in this thread
/
Date
From
SubjectRe: Linus Speaks About KDE-Bashing [OFFTOPIC-Bugroff license again]
Oi Vei!

What a humoungous ding-dong of a thread.

Sigh. Much though I hate to add to it, here is my 2 cents of fuel oil,
so please sends flames / replies direct to me not to the list.

All this thread would go away if people would just use my No problem,
Bugroff license. (Also available at
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Cafe/5947/bugroff.html)

The "No problem Bugroff" license.
=================================

Richard Stallman of the <a href="http://www.gnu.org">Free Software
Foundation</a> devised, in addition to some marvelous software, the
GNU General Public License (GPL for short). Or the CopyLeft it is
sometimes called.

It is quite a revolutionary document, using the "copyright" tool to
to protect your right to use free software.

Unfortunately using copyright to protect free software is a lot
like using a Jackal to guard the hens.

In fact, various inconveniences relating to this have resulted in
modifications such as the LGPL (Library General Public License) and
more recently the <a href="http://www.mozilla.org">NPL (Netscape
Public License)</a>

I call these matters mere inconveniences, the real damage will
occur when the Jackal's, (sorry, I mean lawyers), actually get to test
the GPL in court for the first time.

Thus enter my version.

Its very simple.

Entirely consistent.

Completely unrestrictive.

Easy to apply.

The "No problem Bugroff" license is as follows...

----------------------

The answer to any and every question relating to the copyright,
patents, legal issues of Bugroff licensed software is....


Sure, No problem. Don't worry, be happy. Now bugger off.

----------------------

All portions of this license are important..

* "Sure, no problem." Gives you complete freedom. I mean it. Utterly
complete. A bit of a joke really. You have complete freedom anyway.

* "Don't worry, be happy." Apart from being good advice and a good
song, it also says :- No matter what anyone else says or does,
you still have complete freedom.

* Now bugger off. The only way to get rid of pushy Jackals is to
ignore them and not feed them. The GPL is just begging somebody to
take it to court. Can't you just see it. Exactly the same thing
that happened when some twit registered Linux as his own personal
trademark. People got upset, started a fund, and hired, off all
ruddy things, a Jackal to try and defend the chicken! Who really
benefits from this trademark / patent / copyright thing anyway?
The lawyers. Who made it up in the first place? The lawyers.


OK so the last part of the license sounds a bit harsh, but
seriously folks, if you are a :-

* Lawyer asking these legalese questions... You should go off and
learn an honest trade that will actually contribute to life
instead of draining it.

* Programmer asking these legalese questions... You have amazingly
powerful tools in your hands and mind, use them to ask and answer
the worthwhile questions of life, the universe and
everything. Stop mucking about with such legal nonsense and get
back to programming.

* User/reader asking these question... Don't worry. Go off and be
happy. Have fun. Enjoy what has been created for you.



John Carter EMail: ece@dwaf-hri.pwv.gov.za
Telephone : 27-12-808-0374x194 Fax:- 27-12-808-0338
<http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Cafe/5947> or <http://iwqs.pwv.gov.za>

There is ever only one enemy - And that is the military.
It matters not on which side they purport to be.

PS: In some other forums people have accused the Bugroff License as
being equiv to Public domain. Nope. Not quite. You just need to be a
bit more inventive with your legal questions to realize the "Sure, No
problem. Don't worry, be happy. Now bugger off" answer goes a lot lot
further.


-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
the body of a message to majordomo@vger.rutgers.edu
Please read the FAQ at http://www.altern.org/andrebalsa/doc/lkml-faq.html

\
 
 \ /
  Last update: 2005-03-22 13:43    [W:0.069 / U:0.164 seconds]
©2003-2020 Jasper Spaans|hosted at Digital Ocean and TransIP|Read the blog|Advertise on this site