[Savannah-hackers] Re: submission of Prometheus Play by (E)Mail game by Mathi - savannah.nongnu.org

[Mathieu Roy]

Hi,

I'm evaluating the project you submitted for approval in Savannah.


address@hidden said:

> A package was submitted to savannah.nongnu.org
> This mail was sent to address@hidden, address@hidden
> 
> Mathias Kettner <address@hidden> described the package as follows:
> License: other
> Other License: It\'s GPL V2, with one little addition:
> 
> You may use, modify and distribute this software under the terms of the GPL,
> Version 2 of June 1991, which is contained in the file COPYING.GPL, as long
> as you also do the following:
> 
> - For each game of Prometheus you host you *must* send an email to
>   Mathias Kettner (address@hidden). You do not have
>   to send such an email for a test-only game. A test-only game is
>   a game that you host in order to learn or test the game or the software, 
>   and that has at most four players.
> 
> - The email you send to address@hidden must contain
>   at least the following information:
> 
>     * The number of players in the game
>     * The language the game is played in
>     * Which version of the software is being used
>     * The city and state where the game server is
>     * The day when the game starts (i.e. the first printout is being
>       generated and mailed)
>     * An email-adress of the game master
> 
> - Keep this copyright note intact and unchanged whenever you modify
>   or distribute the software
> 
> -----------------------------------------------
> Some comments:
> 
> The email is no \"ask-for-permission\" email! It\'s used by the original
> game author to keep some kind of statistics. You do *not* have to wait
> for an answer before you can begin with the game. As a matter of fact
> you probably won\'t even get any answer.
> 
> Only the game master has to send the email, not the (other) players
> taking part.

Even if it's not "ask-for-permission" email, it's still
problematic. For instance, if someday you loose interest in this
software, if you're unreachable, someone who would like to formally
respect your licensing policy would unable to use your software.

Or someone may even have good reason to keep his usage private.

We cannot accept this clause. We could accept (address@hidden, can
you confirm?) if you change 

> - For each game of Prometheus you host you *must* send an email to

to

" - For each game of Prometheus you host you're welcome to contribute
    at you convenience by sending an email to..."

and 

> - The email you send to address@hidden must contain
>   at least the following information:

to

" - If you accept to send such email, it must contain at least..."


But, if you accept this change, he does not have to particulary be a
addition clause but a request, that can be added aside but separated
from the license.

                        **

Aside from that, licensing under the "GNU GPL v2 only" is problematic.
Would you please agree to license under the "GNU GPL v2 or later"?

The reason for this is that when we publish GPL v3, it will
be important for all GPL-covered programs to advance to GPL v3.
If you don't put this in the files now, the only way to port
your program to GPL v3 would be to ask each and every copyright holder,
and that may be very difficult.
We can explain the issue in more detail if you wish.
If you have concerns about "GNU GPL v2 or later", We'd be
happy to address them too.

                        **

Also, to release your project under the GPL, you should put
copyright notices and copying permission statements
at the beginning of every source-code file, and
include a copy of the plain text version of the GPL
(http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.txt).
Put it in a file named COPYING.

Please follow the advice of http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-howto.html.

The GPL FAQ explain the reason behind these recommendations.  For
example, there is an entry explaining why the GPL requires including a
copy of the GPL with every copy of the program:
 http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#WhyMustIInclude

                        **

Finally, note that Savannah supports projects of the Free Software
movement, not projects of the Open Source movement.
We are careful about ethical issues and insist on
producing software that is not dependent on proprietary
software.

While Open Source as defined by its founders means 
something pretty close to Free Software, it's frequently misunderstood.
For more information, read
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-for-freedom.html





Please register your project once more with the changes mentioned
above.  The way we handle pending projects makes it difficult to keep
track of projects that have been answered but have not been approved
yet, so we erase them and we ask you to register the project again every
time some change has to be done to the registration, and users might
have to register their projects several times.  Thank you for your
understanding.

Some users find it useful to use the big re-registration URL provided in
the acknowledgment e-mail you received after registration.

Regards,


-- 
Mathieu Roy
 
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