Public Domain Python

[Grant Edwards]

In article <slrn8s2gbs.5rr.wtanksle at dolphin.openprojects.net>, William Tanksley wrote:

>>That sounds _exactly_ like all of the commercial software vendors I've ever
>>dealt with.  
>
>First of all, Python isn't supposed to be commercial software.  Comparing
>it to worst-case commercial software isn't right -- I don't want Python to
>ever be as bad as BEST-case commercial software.
>
>Second, no it doesn't.  Commercial software vendors are tyrants, but
>they're also accountable to their users.

You must be a bigger customer than I ever was -- few if any of
the vendors I dealt with ever acted accountable.

>CNRI is NOT accountable to us, yet it IS changing the license.  That is
>enough right there to strike fear into anyone's heart.  The fact that THIS
>license is nice doesn't mean that they won't just up and do it again!

Very true.  However, they can't take _back_ previous licenses
that have been granted.  If the new license isn't acceptible,
users can split off and continue to develope Python under the
old license.

>>The difference is that with things like Python, gdb, etc. 
>
>> 4) if other people stop supporting the product I at least have the
>>    choice of supporting it myself if I want to. 
>
>This is the beautiful thing about open source.  It's what I'm
>worried about CNRI taking away from us!  If they can change the
>license like this, and make the license retroactive to the
>first version they released,

IANAL, but I don't think they can do that, can they?

If they can retroactively change the terms of a license which
had been granted at some point in the past, then that is scary.

-- 
Grant Edwards                   grante             Yow!  I'LL get it!! It's
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