For Approval: Microsoft Public License

[Chris Travers]

On 10/10/07, Rick Moen <rick at linuxmafia.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > But even in that case, Microsoft is not required to limit its usage for
> > softwares covered by licenses not approved by OSI.
>
> Screw that, Philippe.  OSI's moral claim is utterly clear.



Really?  When I asked about PostgreSQL's version of the BSDL, everyone said
that approval wasn't necessary to call it open source.

Maybe I should submit it after all.  After all, we wouldn't want people to
claim that PostgreSQL wasn't open source, would we?

> The terms were used and defined more broadly before OSI started its
> > job of making a compliance program to give a stricter definition (but
> > no way to enforce it legally).
>
> Nope.  Not in the software context.  This has already been hashed out;
> You'll find the discussion in this mailing list's archives:  Someone
> else who took your position spent some ungodly amount of time searching
> the old DejaNews archive, and for his pains found, if memory serves,
> exactly two isolated mentions predating OSI's launch that _maybe_ could
> be argued to have similar, but neither party followed up to formalise or
> establish their concepts -- or followed up at all, in fact.
>
> OSI, by contrast, did exactly that, and has continued to do so, to this
> day.



If "Open Source" == OSI approved, then we need to look through our licenses
of open source software and start submitting everything that is not
currently approved by OSI.  For example, OpenSSL's license (with the
advertising clause), PostgreSQL's BSD license (not the same as OSI's "New
BSD License"), and the like.  License proliferation galore! :-)

If the argument is that "this is Microsoft we are talking about," then that
is the double standard that I am arguing against,

Best Wishes,
Chris Travers
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