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DavidGriffith / inform6unix

The Inform6 compiler Unix package (moved to https://gitlab.com/DavidGriffith/inform6unix)
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Manual Is Non-Free #3

Closed scott-martinez closed 8 years ago

scott-martinez commented 9 years ago

The included manual is non-free. It disallows modification, and profit. Point (a) in the license notice goes against point 3 in the Debian Free Software Guidelines ("the license must allow modifications and derived works") while point (c) in the license notice goes against point 1 of the DFSG ("may not restrict any party from selling or giving away"). Can this be fixed so that the package may be included in the Debian main archives? Thank you!

"The Inform software may be freely distributed provided that: (a) distributed copies are not substantially different from those archived by the author, (b) this and other copyright messages are always retained in full, and (c) no profit is involved. The same conditions apply to distribution or conversion of any electronic form of this book which may be made available by the author. Exceptions to these conditions must be negotiated directly with the author."

scott-martinez commented 9 years ago

I believe the manual is the only outstanding issue.

DavidGriffith commented 9 years ago

I just now sent an email to Graham Nelson asking for a license change.

DavidGriffith commented 9 years ago

I just got a reply from Graham. I wrote this: Graham... There's one more thing that keeps Debian from including Inform6 in their repositories. It's the license on the DM4 itself. Would you please declare a license change for this too?

This is Graham's response: No, I'm sorry; Debian's ideology isn't mine, and I disagree with it when it comes to the authorship of books. If that means Debian won't distribute the DM4, then - in a very small way indeed! - that's Debian's loss.

Given this, I will therefore remove the DM4 from the Inform6 distribution in favor a pointer to where one can download it.

By the way, please don't package up my work on Inform6 quite yet. Bug-squashing is still quite active. I'll make an announcement on rec.arts.int-fiction and on intfiction.org when it is ready.

scott-martinez commented 9 years ago

Even if Graham doesn't agree with the ideology of the Debian Project, perhaps it would be possible to achieve the same outcome on a more practical basis? For example: Since he is the copyright holder, and modifications aren't allowed, who will maintain the Inform documentation once he is gone and no longer available to get permission from? Selecting an appropriate license now avoids this eventuality.

scott-martinez commented 9 years ago

To provide background about that, in many countries works remain under copyright for longer after the author is gone: Life + 70 years for example. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries%27_copyright_lengths

This is one of the contributing factors to orphan works: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphan_works

scott-martinez commented 9 years ago

Also, if he is concerned over "artistic integrity" or something such as this it is acceptable if the license requires that modified versions be renamed.

DavidGriffith commented 9 years ago

Can you suggest a license that would address Graham's concerns? I believe he wants things such that only he or those he designates can claim authorship of the Inform Designer's Manual. As far as I can tell, he has no problem with people distributing the book any way they choose. What is the minimum change to the Inform License that would make it acceptable for the Debian repo? Why was the Inform package accepted into Debian before?

scott-martinez commented 9 years ago

It's never really been included in Debian because it's in the non-free repository, which is not a part of the Debian system, although they have been configured for use with Debian.

What about something such as this? I am not sure if the second paragraph entirely addresses his concerns or not but I'm sure it can be easily modified to address anything that isn't currently.

It is essentially removing point "C" from the license and adding another part about having to rename the document if it's different. I'm not sure how far he would like to take the renaming requirement though so there is some text in brackets, acting like variables depending on if he'd rather have it applied to any modified version or only to versions which are "substantially different" from the original (I copied the "substantially different" terminology from the original.) There is also another variable depending on if he'd also want modified versions to also include a disclaimer/notice/whatever or something that they're not part of the original.

Permission is granted to make and distribute copies of this document provided that the copies are not substantially different from those archived by the author, and this and other copyright messages are always retained in full.

Permission is granted to make and distribute [modified versions/copies which are substantially different] under the conditions for verbatim copying provided that the modified version is renamed to avoid use of the original name entirely, or any similarly confusing name[, and only if the modified version is clearly identified as not being part of the original].

scott-martinez commented 9 years ago

Also, depending on where he lives, he may also have other options to stop uses he does not like such as trademarks. At least in the U.S. you automatically get a trademark from usage, so relying on copyright law isn't necessarily the only option if there is a concern over it being used in a way he does not like.

DavidGriffith commented 8 years ago

In August 2014, I asked Graham about this and he's pretty firm that he doesn't want to change the license on the DM4. I will therefore remove it from this repo and instead point people to where they can download it or buy a hardcopy. Here's what was said:

On 30 Aug 2014, at 20:56, Dave G. dave@661.org wrote:

Graham... There's one more thing that keeps Debian from including Inform6 in their repositories. It's the license on the DM4 itself. Would you please declare a license change for this too?

No, I'm sorry; Debian's ideology isn't mine, and I disagree with it when it comes to the authorship of books. If that means Debian won't distribute the DM4, then - in a very small way indeed! - that's Debian's loss.

Graham