Now I'll do it myself: OWL R1

[Karsten M. Self]

on Sat, Apr 28, 2001 at 08:04:40PM -0000, mirabilos (eccesys at topmail.de) wrote:
> Now I will post the license I developed for my own work by myself, after
> I found a name for it:
> 
>     OWL Release 1
>     the Open Work License
> 
> because it doesn't just cope code but also docu and my websites...

I'm going to repeat a suggestion I've made here before:

As past submission candidates have been advised, OSI is a volunteer
organization, and the submissions process is slow.  I'm not a member of
OSI or the submission process, and don't speak for either, though I'm
one of several folks who comment on this list.  I'm also inclined to
believe that a slow queue process isn't a bug.

I've also suggested in the past that the following might be helpful in
processing submissions:

  - A synopsis of your license.

  - An exhaustive analysis of existing licenses (particularly the GNU
    GPL, GNU LGPL, BSD, MIT, and Mozilla Public License), and the    
    reasons for which thesse are deemed inadequate.              

  - A statement of goals for the project.  I tend to see these myself
    largely as ideological (you strongly believe in free software),  
    technological (you're promoting a standard or protocol, e.g.:  BIND,
    Kerberos, Apache), or free-software+business (such as the Mozilla
    project, which uses the Mozilla browser as a platform for additional
    commercial development).


> I'll give it here without comment first, just plz have
> a look onto it and - if you can spend some more minutes - discuss with me.
> 
> (The last line is a CRC, the file is exactly 2kB, and
>  the semicolones (yes I can latin) are for NASM. I put
>  it into file LICENSE or - if I just have one source
>  file in (my most used) assembly, at top of it).

What is NASM?  I assume it's some automated machine-readable standard
markup format.

This list is not subject to NASM parsing rules.  Format your submission
for maximum human legibility, preferably under monospaced font email
systems.

My own (non-legal) quick read is that this license simply doesn't parse
as English, and doesn't appear to follow good legal construction.  There
is inconsistant and unclear usage of language.  The last two sentences
are troubling.

My suggestions:  Fix these problems, have your license rewritten, and
have someone fully conversant in English submit it to this list with a
cogent response to the suggestions listed above.  Until these issues are
addressed, the license doesn't merit my further study.

Speaking for myself only.

> Well, here it is.
> -mirabilos
> 
> PS: Don't CC: me as I am on the list at the moment.
> PPS: I am German, so excuse my bad English plz.
> 
> ----8x---snip (dont expect the crc to be adler32 or so, it is different)
> 
> Any work referring to this License is copyrighted work and intellectual
> property of its author, the following person if not stated differently.
> 
>     Copyright (c) mirabilos[TM] <eccesys at topmail.de>
>     All rights reserved; Lex Occultae Germanorum infertum sit
> 
> If different or additional people put their work under this License, in
> the file referring to the License this must be explicitly stated.
> 
> If additional licensing terms are subject to be applied to work covered
> by this License it MUST be EXPLICITLY stated on a PER-FILE base and CAN
> NOT be implied e.g. by Service Provider Terms of Usage, in which hereby
> contrary sections shall become VOID!
> 
> In no event shall author or contributors, subsequently addressed by we,
> be liable for any damage or malfunction caused by the work which hereby
> is provided "AS IS" and without warranty of any kind. If using the work
> you accept to be bound to this License and never will sue us over it.
> Only the original bitstream of a package created by mirabilos is marked
> as "verbatim" under this License, any other package will only be called
> "original" (if unchanged). Nobody shall ever alter the License in ipso.
> 
> You may copy, use, distribute, include the original work in any manner.
> 
> You may modify it and then copy, distribute... the modificated work de-
> pending on retaining this License (file) with it.
> 
> You may include it originally or modificated in work you created and to
> which this License does not apply, however it still fully covers any of
> the new work taken over from the work protected by this License, and it
> covers modifications you did to it. You must remark a Copyright line in
> order to show you have contributed to it. If no Copyright line has been
> in the file you also must add one for mirabilos. On request source code
> of any work covered by this License must be made available if exists.
> If you are inspired by our work you are forbidden to claim intellectual
> property on work done afterwards. However you still ought to credit us.

-- 
Karsten M. Self <kmself at ix.netcom.com>    http://kmself.home.netcom.com/
 What part of "Gestalt" don't you understand?       There is no K5 cabal
  http://gestalt-system.sourceforge.net/         http://www.kuro5hin.org
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