On 2011-10-07, Russ Allbery <r...@debian.org> wrote: > Ben Finney <ben+deb...@benfinney.id.au> writes: > >> That will be good, but we still need to make a lot of noise about this. >> It's ludicrous that any idiot with a lawyer can bring down a resource >> like the site hosting Olsen timezone data, even temporarily. > > ado took the site down voluntarily (almost certainly), so there's really > nothing to protest other than the concept of damages for ongoing > infringment after notification, about which making a lot of noise will do > precisely zero. It looks like the tz database was an innocent bystander > in a legal fight between two other companies and the whole thing will blow > over once that's sorted out and the actual nature of the tz database was > established.
Who are the two companies? However, I do disagree that there is no point in making a show. Those companies need to realise that there are consequences to their involving others in their battles. It is like a war in which civilians get killed-- it is less likely to happen if people know it is happening. > > All you're going to accomplish at this point by making a lot of noise is > to make life even more difficult for ado, so please don't. Please > remember that he was using a server at his job for this (a US government > server, no less), so he's going to be maximally careful about not turning > this into a problem for his employers. Have no idea why his employer should not be defending him. > > Once all the details are out and the case is either resolved or there's > some clear idea how we can help is the time to make noise if it's > appropriate then. Right now, lawyers from the IETF are already involved > and the EFF has already been notified, and those of us who are > well-meaning but don't know how to properly handle the specific legal > situation should really just be quiet and let the lawyers handle it. This is more than just a legal issue. That database is too important to simply be left for the two unkown dissputants to settle between them. I think they need to know that that is the case. > > -- > Russ Allbery (r...@debian.org) <http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/> > > -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-devel-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/slrnj9461g.sda.un...@wormhole.physics.ubc.ca