Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Would You Die To Respect a Software License?

Posted by timothy on from the visit-from-the-compliance-department dept.

Julie188 writes "Some 2,000 licenses cover the 230,000+ projects in Black Duck's open source knowledge base. While 10 licenses comprise 93% of the software, that leaves 1,980-odd licenses for the other 3% — and some of them have really crazy conditions. The Death and Repudiation License, for instance, requires the user to be dead."

8 of 233 comments (clear)

  1. The humorless answer: by FoolishOwl · · Score: 5, Informative

    The summary left out part of a sentence:

    It's important to note that the top 10 licenses cover 93% of all projects and the top 20 almost 97%.

  2. Re:Back in the 80's... by Itninja · · Score: 3, Informative
    Along those lines I have read legal descriptions of real estate plats with all kinds of stuff in them. They are supposed to be verbose, boring descriptions like:

    A PARCEL OF LAND LOCATED IN THE STATE OF CA, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, WITH A SITUS ADDRESS OF 915 REAL ESTATE ST, LOS ANGELES CA 90010-3531 C059 CURRENTLY OWNED BY HOUSER HOMER J AND LOTS ROSE M AND HAVING A TAX ASSESSOR NUMBER OF 5090-012-034 AND BEING THE SAME PROPERTY MORE FULLY DESCRIBED AS TRACT # 8076 AND DESCRIBED IN DOCUMENT NUMBER 1020134 DATED 03/22/2003 AND RECORDED 04/14/2003.

    I have seen ones, approved by the permit people no less, with instructions to the 'bat cave', lyrics from Pink Floyd, and all kinds of weird junk.

    --
    I judt got a nre Kinesis keybiartf so please excusr ant egregiou typos.
  3. Re:Remember not to use Java.... by parlancex · · Score: 4, Informative

    Windows server licenses have similar articles stating the OS is unsuitable for realtime applications, such as nuclear reactors. I don't know how they reconcile that with Windows for Battleships exactly.

  4. Re:Remember not to use Java.... by fishexe · · Score: 2, Informative

    I don't know how they reconcile that with Windows for Battleships exactly.

    I think that's a moot point, because nobody uses battleships anymore.

    --
    "I don't care about the Constitution!" --Bill O'Reilly, November 17, 2009
  5. Re:It's not news, it's Slashdot by retchdog · · Score: 2, Informative

    just ask rms: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I25UeVXrEHQ

    --
    "They were pure niggers." – Noam Chomsky
  6. Re:When I was in college... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Canada is a bilingual country much like Belgium is a trilingual country. So why put Belgium on the list instead of the South provinces of Belgium (Walloons) since the exception was made for Canada. Most Flemish (Belgium) hate the French as much as you do for the same reason.

  7. Re:It's not news, it's Slashdot by hairyfeet · · Score: 2, Informative

    Well here is a nice video of RMS (or should that be GNU-RMS?) dining on some fresh toe cheese so watch and make up your own mind.

    --
    ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
  8. Re:Remember not to use Java.... by zippthorne · · Score: 3, Informative

    It was Windows for Warships.

    Kids these days, just don't get alliteration any more.

    --
    Can you be Even More Awesome?!