Re: [GNU-linux-libre] choosealicense.com fork with better wording, perhaps ?

[John Sullivan]

hellekin <address@hidden> writes:

> On 11/11/2014 05:22 PM, John Sullivan wrote:
>>>
>>> Good point. Here's their version:
>>>
>>>> The GPL (V2 or V3) is a copyleft license that requires anyone who
>>>> distributes your code or a derivative work to make the source
>>>> available under the same terms. V3 is similar to V2, but further
>>>> restricts use in hardware that forbids software alterations.
>>>
>>> And, here's my modified version:
>>>
>>>> The GPL (V2 or V3) is a copyleft license that ensures that anyone
>>>> who
>>>> distributes your code or a derivative work will make the source
>>>> available under the same terms. V3 is similar to V2, but ensures
>>>> that
>>>> any hardware it is used in will permit software modifications.
>>>
>>> (Personally, I don't think that "requires" is strong language in the
>>> same way that "further restricts" is, but I've removed it anyway.)
>>
> *** I agree that "requires" here is a statement of a fact.  If "further
> restricts" is replaced, then the whole paragraph loses its derogatory
> meaning.  I would use "ensures" instead of "requires", and "prevents" to
> replace "further restricts", with the result:
>
> The GPL (v2 or v3) is a copyleft license that ensures anyone who
> distributes your code or a derivative work will make the source
> available under the same terms. V3 is similar to v2, but prevents use in
> hardware that forbids software alterations.
>
> The reason I want to propose that alternative is to avoid repeating the
> word "ensures", and stick to the original style to insist on the
> problematic wording.
>

I don't like "prevents use" -- that's also an obstacle, a negative
sounding thing. How about going back to "ensures" for that part, and
switching to "guarantees" for the first use of "ensures"?

-john

-- 
John Sullivan | Executive Director, Free Software Foundation
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