Re: License issues

At 08:55 AM 3/5/2004 -0800, you wrote:
>Dominique Boin wrote:
>>Does the benefit of changing the license, supercede the disadvantages of 
>>exclusion of 4.4.0 in several major Linux and BSD UNIX distributors?
>
>What are those disadvantages?  If you read the XFree86 mission statement,
>( http://www.xfree86.org/mission.html ) you will find nowhere does it state
>a goal of being included in as many distros as possible, and in fact states
>that they have a goal of avoiding influences from distributors and other
>non-technical issues.  In fact, you could almost argue from the last
>sentence of the primary goal section there, that it is an advantage to the
>XFree86 mission to not be included since it saves them from those distributors
>trying to influence the project.

that's an interesting point Alan.  i think though, xf86 is basically 
agreeing with sun Microsystems,
a company i trust you are familiar with, in this case.  if you want sun 
software you go to sun.
there is no middle-man, no hack if you will.  you are basically 
distribution point for your own
closed-source.

the scenario goes: i want sun,  i gotta go  to http://www.sun.com,  to get 
what i want
out of what they offer i.e.  Java, Solaris, sun pro compiler, etc.  so i 
get my stuff, some of it
gratis, some pay-for,  and then i go on my merry way.  if _i don't want_ 
closed-source
sun i don't go there.  period.  i take my marbles and go play elsewhere.  i 
could go elsewhere
and get something else, right?  that is implicitly what sun is saying;
and i'm cool with that, are you cool with that, Alan?

now i think, and i don't know for sure, but it seems that xf86 is saying 
the same as you.  hey
dude, if you want xf86 get it from the source, don't go to some 
middle-man.  don't let changes we did not
authorize go in , things that we have not tested, we have not 
validated.  don't come to xf86 space
and say my _distro package_ version_of_xf86 doesn't do what you say.  come 
again?  yeah and
how is xf86 supposed to know what your _distro_ has done?  what are we 
supposed to go over
to distro_10001 and counting and check and find out?  that's an incredible 
request man; you can't be serious.

instead xf86 is saying if _you think_ your distro is giving you a value 
added package
stay there.  bother them; go hang with them.  if instead  you think we 
(xf86 just to clarify)
can do it  better, well then we at xf86 is here and waiting.  i think 
personally that this makes the distros
have to do better and give more to compete.  this license issue is bogus.

i personally think that xf86 going this way does make sense.  i think that 
they are finally
waking up and smelling the coffee or Java, if you prefer;-).   distros come 
and go and
some crazies are still in the  dark ages shipping 4.1 as a stable.
talk to me in relevance man.  i think the whole distro scene is ancient 
history.



mark.