[repost] [j at uriah.heep.sax.de: For Approval: The beer-ware license]

[Matthew Flaschen]

Russ Nelson wrote:
> Rick Moen writes:
>  > They're entitled to their view, but I'd be loathe to let _them_ waste my
>  > time, too.  (However, on their behalf, I'll say that at least _they_
>  > aren't chewing up license-review's time on yet another gratuitously
>  > different permissive licence.)
> 
> But Rick, it's NOT a permissive license.  It imposes a legal liability
> on you.  Let's say that you have expressed your approval of the code
> publicly ("Damn good code, there -- Rick Moen", comp.lang.c, January
> 11, 1998).  You are then obligated to buy Mr. Kamp a beer.

That's just not true.  It says "/you can/ buy me a beer in return.".
"You can" can be interpreted as "You are able to" or "You have
permission to" (in which case "You may" would have been more clear).  It
can not be interpreted as "You are obligated to".

I agree with Rick that it's a permissive, OSD-compliant license, and
share his reluctance to approve.

Matt Flaschen