Noah Lavine <noah.b.lav...@gmail.com> writes: >>> Luckily, I haven't actually started the rewrite, because I also have >>> limited time to work on this. So I'm very glad to hear that you're >>> interested in transfering them. If you are the only author of the >>> pieces, then I think the transfer is simple - you put the FSF >>> copyright notice at the top, and you're done. >> >> Uh no. You can't just assign copyright to somebody without asking them, >> much like you can't just assign parentship to somebody without asking >> them. > > Yes, this was specific to this situation, because I thought that he > had already signed a copyright assignment form. I don't mean this as a > general statement of when you can make changes to Guile. > >> Since Thien-Thi Nguyen assigned copyright to GOOPS and general changes >> to future changes to GUILE to the FSF in 2000 already, it is more or >> less a matter of him checking in the changes or otherwise contributing >> them in a manner making clear that the contribution is intentional. >> Matching copyright headers are obviously a good indicator for that. > > Ah, so he would have to either check them in himself or send them as > patches to the list, correct? (In addition to the assignment.)
The assignment is the formal part. The rest is just a matter of making sure that "but I never intended you to take _that_" does not come up. So it is always safer if a contributor _gives_ stuff himself (or designates them) rather than if someone else _takes_ it from him on the assumption that this was intended to be taken. Like if you have a contract for buying a horse. If you take it from the barn and later the owner says "You took the halter! I did not sell the halter!" that's a worse situation to be in rather than if he handed you the horse including halter, even though the halter is not in the contract. Frankly, in the given situation I should be rather surprised if there was potential for misunderstandings. It does look like both the intent to contribute as well as the compass of the contribution are quite well-understood. -- David Kastrup