[freeroleplay] Re: Licenses
- From: Ricardo Gladwell <president@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: FRPGC <freeroleplay@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 29 Jul 2003 14:56:00 +0100
On Mon, 2003-07-28 at 17:05, Bryce Harrington wrote:
> Philosophically, incompatibility is fine. But for me it's simply the
> practical matter - if I have a book under FDL and some software under
> the GPL, I can't use parts of one in the other. If I have some images
> that I use in my GPL'd software, I can't transparently also use it in my
> FDL-covered manual.
I have to admit, its rather odd that the FDL and the GPL are
incompatible in this way. My general feeling is that the FSF, while
doing a lot to further the goals of free software lacks foresight when
it comes to other types of copyright, such as content.
> Anyway, so I feel the whole purpose of the FDL is basically undermined
> by the fact that you can't combine GPL'd materials with it. Because of
> this mis-feature, my opinion is, why bother with it? Just GPL the
> book. ;-)
I agree, it would be nice if people could have the maximum freedom to
release material that could not only be used in FDL documents but also
in GPL'd software, such as computer games. In this case, I would agree
dual-licensing would seem a good way to go.
I would like to retain the FDL... it has some nice features,
particularly the Transparent copy, something other licenses, such as the
Creative Common's, lack. To me this is one of the most important
features of an open/free content license... the freedom to allow others
to easily and quickly re-use your work. An open content license is all
very well, but its a waste of time if you simply use it to produce
material in some non-transparent format, such as PDF or physical book,
which makes the task of copying and re-using it non-trivial. This is one
of the tricks that some d20 publishers use to prevent people re-using
their OGC.
I'd be interested to know more about the issue of license compatibility.
For instance, the FSF mentions several content licenses are compatible
with the FDL... does this mean material licensed under the FDL can be
re-licensed under, say, the OPL and vice versa?
--
Ricardo Gladwell
President, Free Roleplaying Community
http://www.freeroleplay.org/
president@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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