Everyone, As an IT Manager, I support this statement fully. I was a phone call away from ordering a copy of Suse to power an email server. Also, I was in the very early stages for planning a desktop migration to Linux utilizing Novell. This action has removed them from the mix entirely. I cannot in good conscience for the well being of my employer recommend Novell Linux knowing that their actions has, at the very least, blurred the lines between free and proprietary software.
The whole point to choosing them as a vendor would have been the support of a large company for unencumbered software. That they seem to want to back pedal away from this advantage boggles my mind and removes the comfort factor. To Novell (In the event that someone from Novell is reading this): I want to make it perfectly clear that this is a very bad business decision. Whomever thought it was a good one is egregiously wrong. You depend on the FOSS community--not the other way around. Your recent actions are the exact antithesis of the values for which the community as a whole stands. I hope you understand that the software you use is under the dominion of the developrs and that they do retain the right to revoke your distribution under section 4 of the GPL in the event that you violate the license. For reference, see Nmap and The SCO Group. I believe you are very familiar with them. I am not making threats, but merely pointing out that the software you distribute is not yours to make arrangements contrary to the license by which it is provided. I hope you regain some sense about you. Sincerely, Aaron Kincer IT Manager On 11/12/06, Gerald (Jerry) Carter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 The Samba Team disapproves strongly of the actions taken by Novell on November 2nd. One of the fundamental differences between the proprietary software world and the free software world is that the proprietary software world divides users by forcing them to agree to coercive licensing agreements which restrict their rights to share with each other, whereas the free software world encourages users to unite and share the benefits of the software. The patent agreement struck between Novell and Microsoft is a divisive agreement. It deals with users and creators of free software differently depending on their "commercial" versus "non-commercial" status, and deals with them differently depending on whether they obtained their free software directly from Novell or from someone else. The goals of the Free Software community and the GNU GPL allow for no such distinctions. Furthermore, the GPL makes it clear that all distributors of GPL'd software must stand together in the fight against software patents. Only by standing together do we stand a chance of defending against the peril represented by software patents. With this agreement Novell is attempting to destroy that unified defense, exchanging the long term interests of the entire Free Software community for a short term advantage for Novell over their competitors. For Novell to make this deal shows a profound disregard for the relationship that they have with the Free Software community. We are, in essence, their suppliers, and Novell should know that they have no right to make self serving deals on behalf of others which run contrary to the goals and ideals of the Free Software community. Using patents as competitive tools in the free software world is not acceptable. Novell, as a participant in numerous debates, discussions and conferences on the topic knew this to be the case. We call upon Novell to work with the Software Freedom Law Center to undo the patent agreement and acknowledge its obligations as a beneficiary of the Free Software community. - -- The Samba Team http://news.samba.org/announcements/team_to_novell/ -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.2 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with SUSE - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFFV0qBIR7qMdg1EfYRAiUbAJ9qTR2PUfeXlXi7LreYMCy9UuWedgCgydvD FLFIHxFKnEXhVdyZ2a84cbo= =EMyl -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- To unsubscribe from this list go to the following URL and read the instructions: https://lists.samba.org/mailman/listinfo/samba
-- To unsubscribe from this list go to the following URL and read the instructions: https://lists.samba.org/mailman/listinfo/samba
