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."

21 of 233 comments (clear)

  1. Hell No ! by lord_rob+the+only+on · · Score: 3, Funny

    Even if I like a software to be free as in freedom, I respect a software developer to do whatever with his software

  2. Math license by pluther · · Score: 5, Funny

    Which license redefines math so that 1980 + 10 = 2000, and taking 93% leaves only 3% remaining?

    --
    If the masses can keep you down, you're not the Ubermensch.
  3. It's not news, it's Slashdot by Luke+has+no+name · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Slow day.

    1. Re:It's not news, it's Slashdot by MrEricSir · · Score: 5, Funny

      Here's some more ideas:

      Would you smell a nasty fart to prevent terrorism?
      Would you give up your ability to see if it meant you could time travel?
      Would you listen to an entire Britney Spears album if it could bring about world peace?

      --
      There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
    2. Re:It's not news, it's Slashdot by Red+Flayer · · Score: 5, Funny

      Aw, come on, most of those are easy to pick. How about something that strains our decision engines a little bit?

      -- Would you take a job as Steve "Monkeyboy" Ballmer's toe-cheese extractor if it meant Microsoft would publish only via OSS licenses?

      -- Would you take a position as Steve "Tyrant" Jobs' fashion consultant if it meant Apple would open up the app store?

      -- Would you lick Stallman's neck and armpit if it meant GNU/Hurd became a complete, usable, modern kernel?

      These are the type of choices that would keep me up at night.

      --
      "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
    3. Re:It's not news, it's Slashdot by grcumb · · Score: 4, Funny

      -- Would you take a job as Steve "Monkeyboy" Ballmer's toe-cheese extractor if it meant Microsoft would publish only via OSS licenses?

      I suppose it would be a worthy sacrifice.

      -- Would you take a position as Steve "Tyrant" Jobs' fashion consultant if it meant Apple would open up the app store?

      I am willing to expend my life in pursuit of turtlenecks if it means Openness for all.

      -- Would you lick Stallman's neck and armpit if it meant GNU/Hurd became a complete, usable, modern kernel?

      No! Not in a thousand lifetimes, no! What do you think I am, you sick twisted fuck?!?

      --
      Crumb's Corollary: Never bring a knife to a bun fight.
    4. Re:It's not news, it's Slashdot by Red+Flayer · · Score: 3, Funny

      The first two are easy, but the third one's a false choice: you can also fork and do it yourself.

      Where did you get an Instant Adult (tm) cloning device? I thought they were sold out?

      I personally lack the replicator necessary to fork Stallman and lick him myself.

      --
      "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
    5. Re:It's not news, it's Slashdot by Bigjeff5 · · Score: 4, Funny

      -- Would you lick Stallman's neck and armpit if it meant GNU/Hurd became a complete, usable, modern kernel?

      Would get Stallman to finally shut up? If so, I'd definitely consider it.

      --
      Security is mostly a superstition... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. - Helen Keller
  4. Who put the Idle story in the News bin? by LostCluster · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If a software license exists, and no software is written that is available under the terms of that license, does it merit discussion on Slashdot?

    It looks to me as somebody set up a site to create a gallery of TOSes so software writers can get some ideas... but then the site got attacked by the typical forum trolls took over and we get a comedy site as the end result. This belongs to Idle next to news from The Onion.

  5. Quip on Contracts by Improv · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The "freedom to encumber" works is like the "freedom to punch someone" ... They are both 'freedoms' that only exist at the expense of others.
                    -- Gregory Maxwell, discussion on licensing

    --
    For every problem, there is at least one solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.
    1. Re:Quip on Contracts by JesseMcDonald · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That would be a good description of copyright, and thus copyright licenses, but not contracts in general. The terms of a contract are merely conditions which you require to be met before you will voluntarily give the other party some of your property, which you are in no way obligated to do. No matter what the terms may be, they impose no expense on others; one is always free to ignore the offer should one find the terms unpalatable. Licenses are similar, but the copyrights which give licenses their power are artificial social-engineering constructs which only exist at the expense of others.

      --
      "The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else." - Bastiat
    2. Re:Quip on Contracts by Improv · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Fair, although contract law has recognised certain topics where contracts are not free for good reason - situations of some sorts are considered generally either coercive or one-sided enough that the public good is ill-served by the absence of some (or significant regulation). Landlord-tenant law is one example, although English common law has accumulated a long list of other circumstances and remedies to specific abuses, many of which we've kept in the US.

      --
      For every problem, there is at least one solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.
  6. Re:Now that's.... by compro01 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I strongly suspect the D&R license is a BSD license fan responding to someone wanting them to dual-license something.

    --
    upon the advice of my lawyer, i have no sig at this time
  7. Death and Repudiation License is peanuts by El_Muerte_TDS · · Score: 5, Funny

    The Death and Repudiation License is nothing compared to the EULA of iPhone OS 5.1

  8. When I was in college... by georgewilliamherbert · · Score: 5, Funny

    One of my schoolmates released some software with a custom license, which was basically the old-form original UC Berkeley BSD license with a restriction prohibiting any use by persons in "Country Code F", defined as (paraphrasing from memory):

    "France, Belgium, Quebec, Sengal, Ghana, Did we mention France?"

    I think it was bad experiences with language classes in high school, but I'm not sure.

  9. 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%.

  10. 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.
  11. Remember not to use Java.... by fishexe · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...."the design, construction, operation or maintenance of any nuclear facility." That's in Sun's EULA. For real.

    --
    "I don't care about the Constitution!" --Bill O'Reilly, November 17, 2009
    1. 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.

    2. 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?!
  12. Re:Back in the 80's... by Tapewolf · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I recall that a common graphics viewer those cool new GIF files (among many other formats) wrote that if you continued using their software after 30 days without paying then a demon would be visited by demons who would torment you.

    Graphics Workshop had something like this. In fact:

    If you want to see additional features in Graphic Workshop, register
    it. If we had an Arcturian mega-dollar for everyone who has said
    they'd most certainly register their copy if we'd add just one
    more thing to it, we could buy ourselves a universe and retire.

    Oh yes, should you fail to support this program and continue to
    use it, a leather winged demon of the night will tear itself,
    shrieking blood and fury, from the endless caverns of the nether
    world, hurl itself into the darkness with a thirst for blood on
    its slavering fangs and search the very threads of time for the
    throbbing of your heartbeat. Just thought you'd want to know
    that.

    ...If I remember correctly, you could get a discount if you sent the author a photocopy of the cover of his novel.