InfoWorld: Pentaho opens up further (Exhibit B to real MPL)

[Andrew C. Oliver]

I really dislike the mischaracterization of "badgeware" as 
"attribution".  Attribution STILL refers in my book to BSD style 
"attribution".  I will accept the less normative "UI Attribution" or 
"Logo Attribution" however I think it smells of "death tax" and "cut and 
run" type "think tank" phrase making and the paranoia in me thinks you 
are deliberately trying to confuse people with BSDish style 
attribution.  For myself at least, if the proponents of this stopped 
referring to it as "attribution" I would stop calling it "adware" and 
use some neutral descriptive phrase as well as encourage others to do so. 

Winning on this particular issue isn't all.  I know that a lot of the 
people feeling attacked right now started open source companies because 
they liked the idea of open source.  I think that some perspective is 
needed that the issue of "UI attribution" isn't going to make or break 
your business.  On the other hand taking the discussion up a notch would 
indeed help a great deal. 

I look forward to the revised socialtext submission.

-Andy

Matt Asay wrote:
> Sorry, Rick.  I misread your original message.
>
> As for my company's use of attribution, two responses:
>
> 1.  I don't think anyone on this list gives these companies the benefit of a
> doubt.  I've been pushing the company toward the GPL since the day I
> started.  Given where we started, I'd say we've made tremendous progress.
> And much as I personally dislike attribution, I still hold that it's open
> source.  Not the open source I personally prefer, but open source.  (That
> said, I see the #10 argument and we are reviewing how to meet the
> community's concerns on that issue.  Stay tuned.
>
> 2.  It's OSI that is being slow on the attribution debate, not the
> companies.  A license has been submitted.  The ball is in OSI's court.  As
> such, it doesn't do much good to further hector the companies.  They've done
> what has been asked of them by OSI.  We just have to wait and see at this
> point.
>
> Matt
>
> P.S.  I'll update the blog again.  :-)
>
>
>   
>> From: Rick Moen <rick at linuxmafia.com>
>> Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2007 09:46:41 -0800
>> To: <license-discuss at opensource.org>
>> Subject: Re: InfoWorld: Pentaho opens up further (Exhibit B to real MPL)
>>
>> Quoting Matt Asay (mjasay at mac.com):
>>
>>     
>>> Thanks for calling this out.  I wasn't aware that they hadn't gone 'all the
>>> way' to the MPL.  I tried looking on their site, and didn't see it.  I just
>>> took The 451 Group's analysis of the move.
>>>       
>> Didn't Larry L. teach you to read the fine print?  ;->
>>
>>     
>>> Sorry for the (somewhat) false alarm.  I'll make a note of it on the
>>> InfoWorld blog.
>>>       
>> Unfortunately, your update (today) on your blog
>> (http://weblog.infoworld.com/openresource/archives/2007/01/pentaho_opens_u.htm
>> l)
>> appears to state the facts _backwards_.
>>
>>    UPDATE: I just found out that Pentaho went to an MPL+attribution
>>    model.
>>
>> Au contraire, sir!  They _were_ on an MPL + Exhibit B "badgeware"
>> licence, but recently corrected that to actual MPL -- _removing_ their
>> Exhibit B on the Pentalo BI Suite product -- citing as their reason
>> "input from the development community along with our strong belief in
>> being true open source contributors".  Which is of course exactly
>> congruent with what badgeware critic Nicholas Goodman (of Pentalo) has
>> been saying, you may recall (http://www.nicholasgoodman.com/bt/blog/).
>>
>> Don't take my word for it.  Download tarballs and check for yourself
>> (that it's now _not_ MPL + "Exhibit B", but rather real MPL).  That's
>> after all the best way, these days, of making sure someone isn't
>> misrepresenting a licence, isn't it?
>>
>> And after you do, will you kindly correct today's misstatement of fact,
>> and cease (in effect) maligning Pentaho by lumping them with the
>> companies (like, well,... yours) whose licensing model they have
>> _stopped_ using?
>>
>> Thank you.
>>
>> -- 
>> "Is it not the beauty of an asynchronous form of discussion that one can go
>> and 
>> make cups of tea, floss the cat, fluff the geraniums, open the kitchen window
>> and scream out it with operatic force, volume, and decorum, and then return to
>> the vexed glowing letters calmer of mind and soul?" -- The Cube, forum3000.org
>>     
>
>
>
>
>   


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