From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: main.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: "Eli Zaretskii" Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel,gmane.emacs.xemacs.beta Subject: Re: Permission to use portions of the recent GNU Emacs Manual Date: Sat, 11 Dec 2004 20:19:50 +0200 Message-ID: <01c4dfae$Blat.v2.2.2$263aae60@zahav.net.il> References: Reply-To: Eli Zaretskii NNTP-Posting-Host: deer.gmane.org Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1102789295 17411 80.91.229.6 (11 Dec 2004 18:21:35 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 11 Dec 2004 18:21:35 +0000 (UTC) Cc: xemacs-beta@xemacs.org, emacs-devel@gnu.org, ben@666.com Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Sat Dec 11 19:21:30 2004 Return-path: Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([199.232.76.165]) by deer.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 1CdBs1-0004uK-00 for ; Sat, 11 Dec 2004 19:21:29 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.33) id 1CdC22-0005BI-Aq for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Sat, 11 Dec 2004 13:31:50 -0500 Original-Received: from mailman by lists.gnu.org with tmda-scanned (Exim 4.33) id 1CdC1Y-00059h-O8 for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sat, 11 Dec 2004 13:31:20 -0500 Original-Received: from exim by lists.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.33) id 1CdC1W-000592-Pp for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sat, 11 Dec 2004 13:31:18 -0500 Original-Received: from [199.232.76.173] (helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.33) id 1CdC1W-00058s-J9 for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sat, 11 Dec 2004 13:31:18 -0500 Original-Received: from [192.114.186.24] (helo=legolas.inter.net.il) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.34) id 1CdBqy-0001f9-I5 for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sat, 11 Dec 2004 13:20:24 -0500 Original-Received: from zaretski (pns03-203-109.inter.net.il [80.230.203.109]) by legolas.inter.net.il (MOS 3.5.5-GR) with ESMTP id DHV11289 (AUTH halo1); Sat, 11 Dec 2004 20:19:43 +0200 (IST) Original-To: Alan Mackenzie X-Mailer: emacs 21.3.50 (via feedmail 8 I) and Blat ver 2.2.2 In-reply-to: (message from Alan Mackenzie on Sat, 11 Dec 2004 10:27:39 +0000 (GMT)) X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: "Emacs development discussions." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Original-Sender: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Errors-To: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: main.gmane.org gmane.emacs.devel:31003 gmane.emacs.xemacs.beta:17403 X-Report-Spam: http://spam.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.devel:31003 > Date: Sat, 11 Dec 2004 10:27:39 +0000 (GMT) > From: Alan Mackenzie > Cc: emacs-devel@gnu.org, xemacs-beta@xemacs.org > > What is the purpose of the GFDL? I quote from the licence: "The purpose > of this License is to make a manual .... "free" in the sense of > freedom: to assure everyone the effective freedom to copy and > redistribute it, with or without modifying it, either commercially or > noncommercially." Since the XEmacs team's freedom here is ineffective, > the GFDL is, on its own terms, broken. I think you are taking the ``free'' part too literally. Free Software or Free Documentation does not necessarily mean that you are ``free'' to do whatever you want with it. For example, the GPL says that your freedom is limited by the requirement to supply the sources together with the binary. So an argument that ``free'' means there are no limitations is an invalid argument, IMHO. A better argument would be whether the limitations of freedom imposed by the GFDL are justified by the goals of the Free Software movement.