Subject: Re: Yggdrasil and LDP
From: Greenfie <[email-masked]>
To: Linux Documentation Project writers <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 9 Jul 1995 20:07:39 -0400

When I read the Yggdrasil announcement, a flag went off in my mind saying
"Flamewar coming".  I'd like to say that I really don't consider this a
scummy tactic in any way.

Matt, if I recall in addition to writing the I&GS "free" manual, you also
have a more traditional published book with a more traditional copyright,
correct?  Did you choose the copyright scheme because of pressure from the
publisher?  After all, I assume (and hope!) that you're getting royalties,
which is exactly what Yggdrasil is offering, in exchange for changing a
copyright to be more in line with their policy as a company.

The GPL by itself is like this---in exchange for getting people to change
their copyrights, it allows people access to freely redistributable
software complete with source code.  It's a trade off.

I don't consider this to be any more pressure than if someone came up to me
while I was walking down the street and offered to pay me $5 to walk on the
other side of the street.  It's a proposition for payment for certain
actions.

I was never overly happy with the copyright scheme.  I probably will change
mine.  Will it be specifically because of this?  Well, no, but this will
make me take some sort of action.  (Not to mention I hope to have a new
version out in August.  I may as well put a new copyright on it by then.)

I plan on duplicating the copyright used on the FSF's manuals, as I don't
consider that to be "more restrictive" than the GPL.  I also haven't seen
them have any problems.

Ahh well.

Whatever.
-- 
Larry Greenfield
greenfie(ld)@gauss.rutgers.edu
        ^^^^ for better mailing, delete these characters