Re: [Savannah-dev] New Developer

[Mathieu Roy]

> It is, for now.  The license is not directly attached to a software,
> though.  The copyright holder (VA whatstheirnamenow) can re-distribute
> the very same software under a different license.  Which does not
> preclude the existence of the first one.  A GPL release program can
> exist at the same time as a proprietary release.  As soon as you get
> the GPL version (from someone who got it from someone who got
> it...from someone who got the GPL version from VA), you are "bound" by
> the GPL.  If you only have the proprietary version, you're bound by
> whatever license came with the release you got.
> </nitpick>

Sure.

>   But my point was not about 3.0 (for which I have rather sadly given
> up hope), more about the 2.7 that VA announced they would release
> under « a free license » this summer.  We're still waiting, but it
> might happen.

Personally, I do not hope that everybody will use and make software 
free for ethical motivations. I know that lot of people will only use 
and make it so by opportunity. But I'm fine with this.

But I do not play the game of the ones who do not play the game of free 
software.
If someday Microsoft, Apple, or whatever proprietary-software company, 
publish an old version of one of their softwares as free software, I'm 
fine with the idea of using it... and starting a free version from this 
one.
But I will never wait the day this company release a more recent 
version of their software under a free license. If a software is free, 
is development should be.
With the development model now used by VA Software, users does only 
have the right to be the slave of VA Software plans, as it is for any 
other proprietary software. But there's one way to get out of this 
crappy situation: start a project starting from the latest GPL-released 
version.

Also, I'll never help development of a proprietary software hoping 
that, someday, he becomes free.

VA Software and many other company have taken the Free Software as a 
chance to exists. Without the Free Software, back in the old ages, 
there were no place for them, in a world over-controlled by few 
companies.
Now, VA Software can exists without Free Software. No problem. It's 
their right to become proprietary - sure it's the better way to make a 
lot of money with softwares.
But the Free Software community should not be dependant of this company.
So I do not recommand standing using a product that does not evolve as 
free software but as proprietary. I do not tell to people to use a 
software unmaintained as free software.

Regards,


--
Mathieu Roy
 http://savannah.gnu.org/users/yeupou
http://yeupou.coleumes.org
http://gpg.coleumes.org (GPG Key)