SOS license

[Alex Nicolaou]

Ian Lance Taylor wrote:

> Note that there is a conjunction there.  The GPL says that if you do A
> and B, you must obey certain conditions.  Here A is ``modify your copy
> or copies...'' and B is ``copy and distribute such modifications...''
> I don't see any restriction in the GPL on doing A.  Clause 1 lays out
> restrictions on doing B.  Clause 2 lays out restrictions on doing A
> and B together.  I don't see any restrictions on doing A.

The way I read it is that the license says that you may do A, and you
may do B, as long as you also do all of 2a/b/c. That is, if you do A,
you must also do 2a/b/c whether you do B or not. It's not "if (A && B)
then you must do 2a/b/c", it's "allow(A) and allow(B) provided 2a/b/c
are satisfied". 

To put it a different way, if a mother says to a little boy: "You may
have a chocolate bar and go to the park as long as your room is clean,
you've brushed your teeth, and your homework is finished", the boy isn't
allowed to say "Ok, I'll have a chocolate bar even though I haven't
cleaned my room, since I'm not having a chocolate bar *and* going to the
park".

alex