Re: Dontation -- html renderer for Swing.

[Thomas Zander]

On Sunday 12 December 2004 13:35, you wrote:
> > This is a component that has nothing to do with the Swing API and
> > therefor I make this offer with a clear conscience.
>
> Thanks, the offer is really appreciated. But it would be reeassuring if
> you could provide a bit more references to the authors and origin of the
> source code in question. I didn't look long and hard and I might have
> missed some clear clues how, what and where this source code originated
> from and how to make sure I can contact or verify the claims of all
> copyright holders. Any help with that would be appreciated.

Worst case scenario is where the person who did the import on sf.net stole 
the sources, added a free license on it and published it. I have no way to 
prove otherwise since the original author does not seem to be 'alive' 
anymore.

So, I can't really give you more then what I have done already, which 
apparently is not enough :(


The address printed in the original license is (currently) "Country News" a 
newsagent, according to google, which makes me think he had a pobox there 
years ago, and maybe attended uni there in 98 (an idea based on the 
"offshore" user id)

If someone here lives in the UK, you might want to phone the country-news 
newsagent in Leicester, or the ISP which apparently still gets periodical 
payments to keep hosting: http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~offshore and find out 
if there is a way to get a message to him, or something.

Personally; the open sourcing of a package 4 years after it has last been 
published seems very plausible to me, so I accept the fact that a published 
document that has a licence which allows me to freely use it indeed means I 
can freely use it.  Or, in other words, the license is an explicit Ok, I 
don't need a an extra Ok from the author, like you seem to want.

Sorry for being cynical, I agree licenses are important, but this just 
hampers productivity.
-- 
Thomas Zander

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