On 28 Mar 2003 17:47:32 -0500, Dan Espen wrote: > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > I have checked in a new license file with ethical license terms to > > the development branch. See below for the contents of this file. > > Furthermore, I added this statement to the beginning of the > > COPYING file: > > > > Before using this software, every user is required to read the > > fair use statement in the file ETHICAL_LICENSE that comes with the > > fvwm distribution. > > > > Please tell me your comments, enhancements, critique, etc. Also, > > I ask everyone who ever made any change to the CVS repository or > > submitted a patch to support this license and have his or her name > > added to the list of subscribers. > > I don't agree. > > Given the amount of work I do, I think it will be easy to override > my vote if others feel as you do.
I don't like to disappoint you, Dominik, but I don't agree too. I can't see myself agreeing with a license that discriminates people based on their occupation, ethics or similar. GNU GPL means free for everyone forever. No exceptions. Personally I am not a god to decide who is meritorious to use my software and who is not. > Your stated plan is to leave Fvwm. Have you reconsidered? > > I don't think any tie-in with the software, especially as it > pertains to the license is a good idea. > > Please uncommit until you get agreement so that I can continue > to check out, build, test until then. > > > > * supporting, planning, preparing or executing wars and other > > military actions. > > I see you left out terrorist acts. One more thing is left out: using chemical, biological and nuclear weapons (as something that affects an especially large amount of innocent people) in the past or a possible future if we don't fight it. To continue, think also about wars against the drug business and other mafias. What is more ethical, to kill several drug traffickers in a skirmish or to let them to break thousands of people? It's clear for me. Many thousands of people in just my country die in road accidents because of drunken drivers. If I would want to be ethical and non-political, I would rather discriminate drinking drivers than military engineers. How about banks? My friend works in a state bank that deals with all ministries, including financing of the Ministry of Defence. With a little fantazy and rhetorics, every human in the world is guilty and should not use FVWM. > You are trying to involve Fvwm in something it shouldn't be > involved in. Agree, politics are too unclear and dirty to be constructive in software developement. Face it. Ethics, politics, religion always mean ego, nothing more than this, everyone chooses what is better for his own safety or for the safety of his family, his country, his god, whatever. Nothing special to be prood of. There is no absolute human ethics. Unfortunately. I wrote all this before receiving other thread messages. Now I see them. Dominik, you say it is not political, but you still mention dates and country names in the license as if the only innocent deaths in the world were on these dates. It may have something to do with press headlines. You don't want to be taken as someone who changes sides. I fully believe you. Still I think my ethics is an ego as well as ethics of others. People want to live. If you would live in a country where daily/monthly terrorist acts or local wars are a reality (there are several such countries), it is likely your ethics would be affected a lot by this. I know (judging by myself) how it is comfortable to sit in a safe place and demonstrate a protest against all the world "violence" without knowing full details and without even wanting to know who and why becides what the press says. This is my opinion and it has no personal attacks at all. Saying all this, if any dates and country names are removed from ETHICAL_LICENSE, I am not against including this file if it makes some developers feel better. I do want Dominik to continue the development. I do respect his ethics and good will although I can't fully agree. Regards, Mikhael. -- Visit the official FVWM web page at <URL:http://www.fvwm.org/>. To unsubscribe from the list, send "unsubscribe fvwm-workers" in the body of a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To report problems, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
