AW: AW: AW: AW: For Approval: German Free Software License

[Russell Nelson]

Axel Metzger writes:
 > Hi Russell, hi list,
 > 
 > It seems to me that the discussion on the list has now calmed down it bit or
 > shifted to more general questions. 
 > 
 > I would propose that I look through now all the e-mails we had and make a
 > list of the critical provisions and try to talk to the GFSL-people to get a
 > solution for all of them or to cancel the approval process. 

I'm quite sure that you haven't heard about all of the problems with
the license[1].  I'm not sure that you understand that you're here asking
for a favor.  You want to create the best open source license you can
-- a license that is visibly better than any other license.  If you're
uninterested in doing that, then you're not going to get your license
approved, because the world does not have an intrinsic need for any
more open source licenses.  Since you have been offered suggestions
and refused them, you're going to have a HARD TIME getting more
suggestions for improvement.

I recommend that you take the list of changes, talk to the GFSL
people, make the changes, and then re-submit your license for approval
with full expectations that there will be more changes needed.

Your situation is very akin to someone running an open source project
who has refused improvements.  Do that much, and you won't GET
any improvements to refuse.

[1] For example, what does Section 3(5) mean?  It reads as if it were
translated using Babelfish.  This is just one of many problems with
unclear wording due to poor translation.  Or, Section 3(6) is probably
unnecessary.  If you have licensed people to reproduce and distribute
the Program, then no judge is going to let you retroactively withdraw
that license using the patent system.  Section 1(1) *is* a patent
license.

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