OpenDesk.com License Proposal

[Derek Balling]

At 11:28 AM 11/8/99 +1100, Andrew J Bromage wrote:
> > 2) Commercial Use for Private Installations (e.g. installing OpenDesk on an
> > Intranet)
> >   a) Modifications to Covered Code must be released under this license.
> >
> > The GPL does that.
>
>No it doesn't.
>
>If you install a modified version of a GPL'd product as a server
>product on an intranet, you are not obliged to release modifications,
>since you are not actually distributing anything, neither binaries
>nor source.
>
>The situation with OpenDesk (or, indeed, any server app system) is
>different, since you don't have to distribute anything in order to let
>people use it.  The GPL doesn't help, since it only covers distribution
>of source, object code and binaries.

Then you will run into the problem of having to run a CVS repository for 
your users. Reason: If I am working on code under this license, I may make 
100 separate modifications, before I wind up with working code again. 
(e.g., make changes, find bugs, fix bugs, make more, fix more, etc., yada 
yada yada).

Each "modification" - separately - is something which must be released. If 
I change line 100 in the first edit, before I make other changes, I have to 
make THAT (albeit bug-ridden or non-functional) code available before I can 
go fix it.

2.a. would need some rewriting before anyone would conceivably work on the 
code, IMHO.

D