For Approval: Socialtext Public License ("STPL")

[Matthew Flaschen]

Ben Tilly wrote:
>> > Your network use clause is from Affero, which is not OSI-approved.
>> > However, the only problem I see with this clause is that it requires
>> > "immediate transmission by HTTP", which to me is a violation of OSD #10
>> > .  I think "immediate transmission, over the network, " is much better.
> 
> I actually don't like "immediate transmission" because a lot of PDAs
> and laptops are moving towards allowing you to make copies, work
> offline, then later resync.  (So you can, for instance, continue
> working while you are on a plane.)  So there may be no immediate
> network available.

Well, if you're not online, you're no longer interacting over the
network, so the clause wouldn't apply.  However, it's true that you
might not have enough time online to download source.  Before (not
thinking of that issue), I suggested displaying a written offer of
source instead.  The issue is that the user is supposed to be able to
get the exact source used at a certain time.  Mailing a request for
source introduces delay, so the site should be required to archive every
version of the source for a few months. Thanks to modern version
control/compression/drive space, this really isn't a problem at all.

Matthew Flaschen