Can Java code EVER be GPLd, at all?

[Mark Wells]

On Sat, 13 Nov 1999, Ken Arromdee wrote:

> Notable flaws of this scheme include the fact that since the distributor has
> to get his recipients to agree to a contract, it would be impossible to
> distribute the software in situations like stores or ftp sites.  This might be
> fixable if the author agrees in advance not to sue such distributors, but
> I'm not sure; again, I'm not a lawyer.

"Welcome to our FTP archive.  Please note that by downloading software
from this archive you are indicating that you have read and agreed to the
terms of the Fanatical Public License.  If you do not agree to this
license, please disconnect now."

IIRC this sort of thing is a valid and enforceable way to present a
license.  (Some FTP sites that contain strong crypto code use similar
mechanisms: "If you are not a citizen of the United States or Canada,
please disconnect immediately.")  It's the electronic version of a
tear-open license.

So if you really wanted to do this, you could require all mirror sites to
display that message before allowing anyone to download your software.