Re: Asking ffor package to be released under GPL compatible licenses

[fgnievinski]

Juan Pablo Carbajal-2 wrote
> On Thu, Feb 6, 2014 at 9:42 PM, Carnë Draug <

> carandraug@

> > wrote:
>> On 6 February 2014 20:17, Jordi Gutiérrez Hermoso <

> jordigh@

> > wrote:
>>> On Thu, 2014-02-06 at 12:09 -0800, fgnievinski wrote:
>>>> I've taken the liberty of adding a caveat to:
>>>> <http://wiki.octave.org/Asking_for_package_to_be_released_under_GPL:_examples>
>>>
>>> I have removed this. It is the goal of the GNU project to promote free
>>> software and the GPL. The Mathworks purged the GPL from Matlab Central
>>> some years ago so that they could add restrictions such as disallowing
>>> the usage of the code outside of Matlab. We want to promote the GPL in
>>> order to ensure that this can't happen again. As it is right now,
>>> Matlab File Exchange is misleadingly distributing software that
>>> appears free but is in fact non-free.
>>>
>>> If authors are already happy giving us their software outside of
>>> Matlab File Exchange, then it's not usually onerous for them to allow
>>> it to be GPL'ed. One of Agora's goals is to eventually host the GPL'ed
>>> code that got purged from Matlab Central. That way, we can ensure that
>>> restrictions such as the one that the Mathworks imposed cannot happen
>>> again.
>>
>> I believe there was some missunderstanding here. I put a notice back
>> that still warns people when sending an email is not required, without
>> any of the legal talk [1]. A link to the FAQ that explains was given
>> instead.
>>
>> Carnë
>>
>> [1]
>> http://wiki.octave.org/wiki/index.php?title=Asking_for_package_to_be_released_under_GPL%3A_examples&action=historysubmit&diff=4037&oldid=4035
> 
> I do not understand something. If the author uses a proprietary
> license then one needs to ask for GPL-compatible release. Other wise
> is a hussle to upload those packages to libre websites like Agora,
> right?
> I think the warning only applies if the intention is for personal use.
> In the case we want to have it in a free-server then we need
> GPL-compatible. Also if one plans to fork it....

What proprietary license?  The 3-clause modified BSD, as used in the
FileExchange, is non-proprietary and GPL-compatible.  If you have access to
the same code (and under the same license) outside of Matlab Central, then
you can post it in your website, incorporate it into your software, etc. 
Agora may impose their own restrictions, but I don't think it'll forbid
submission of free non-GPL software.
-F.



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