Re: distributing source

On Sat, Jan 04, 2003 at 11:03:15PM +0100, Frank Louwers wrote:
> I maintain a few servers, both ours, and at a clients site, some of
> which are ours, some belong to our clients.
> 
> We made a few debian packages (basicly from the "official" debian qmail
> source), with a few modifications in (we use messagewall as a virus/spam
> blocker, we use vmailmgr for the pops, ...).
> 
> Theoreticly, when I build that package, login to a client's machine and
> install that package, I am 'distributing', so I am in violation of the
> license.
> 
> Is this correct? 

I do not think so: installing on clients' machines is not considered
(strictly) distribution.  You have two options:

1) Make a compliant var-qmail package, and then a separate package for
    the addons.  This is what I have been doing in the last 3 yrs or
    so.

2) If you cannot do 1), because you need to patch qmail, then you can
    still make a binary package, but make sure the package also
    installs you a file in the package detailing the modifications you
    made.

    Also, you want to tell the customer explicitly that you installed
    a modified qmail on her system, and that where she can read about
    these modifications.

    Here is a file I put in the patched qmail srpm (source rpm) I
    distribute

=============Begin README_rpm

This qmail rpm was created in the following environment:

Compiler: gcc version 2.96 20000731 (Red Hat Linux 7.3 2.96-110)
Hardware: i686
Library: glibc-2.2.5-34
OSversion: Linux 2.4.18-3
Packager: [email protected]
RedHat release: Red Hat Linux release 7.3 (Valhalla)
rpm version: rpm-4.0.4-7x.18

This is a patched version of qmail; you cannot distribute it.
The patches used are

1 verh, for personalized headers in ezmlm lists
2 qmqpc, to allow command line spec of qmqp servers (F. Lindberg)
3 dns, to handle long DNS records (S. Schwartz's)
8 queuevar, to implement the QMAILQUEUE variable
9 ext todo, to cure silly qmail syndrome
10 syncdir, gives qmail bsd fsync semantics on a Linux filesystem
11 qmtpc, attempt qmtp first if the MX priority indicates so.
13 pop3d_stat, fixes STAT command

Where I did not indicate the author, the patch is from www.qmail.org,
and that is where you should go to read about what the patches do.

=============End README_rpm

If I distributed this rpm in binary form, I might put an additional
sentence in this file like:

	 Since this is a modified version of qmail, all responsibility
	 for unexpected behavior of qmail rests on the packager, Mate
	 Wierdl.


Mate
-- 
---
Mate Wierdl | Dept. of Math. Sciences | University of Memphis  
Please avoid sending me Word or PowerPoint attachments.
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