Re: Google modules integration

[Jambunathan K <kjambunathan@gmail.com>]

Juanma Barranquero <lekktu@gmail.com> writes:

> On Sun, Sep 12, 2010 at 02:36, Glenn Morris <rgm@gnu.org> wrote:
>
>>    (b) using the Maps APIs. In this case, you understand and agree that
>>    Google will treat your use of the Maps APIs as acceptance of the Terms
>>    from that point onwards.
>
> IANAL, but it seems quite fishy. Assume you argue that you used the
> APIs without reading that. Yeah, I know, ignorantia juris non excusat,
> but that's not the law, that's a license agreement. So, what would be
> your crime, "using an API without reading the license"? :-)
>
> (What I mean is, has someone really tried to defend that kind of
> license on a tribunal? Did it work?)

I agree that it is infeasible or futile for a big corporation to run
behind individuals (possibly of no 'consequence'). That doesn't preclude
the possibility that it wouldn't or couldn't happen as a practical
deterrent or what the limits of liability would be. (If I can pay more
damages, will they claim more damages? Don't know ...)

I believe there are two things that came up in this thread worth making
a note:

1. Using anonymous proxies so that Google couldn't nail the individual
   user [1].

2. Google using the users to beef up it's database and there being no
   explicit policy on whether these databases would continue to remain
   publicly accessible [2].

That said, plugins under discussion are tools. When these tools are so
simple as to be built with limited effort, withholding of the
availability of the tool within the GNU's official distribution is
unlikely to cause these tools to be hacked or easily available
elsewhere.

Let me also add that, as a small-time Emacs user, it is my moral
obligation that I live without these tools from within the official
distribution or package servers. I am willing to suffer some
inconvenience for locating the package, building it myself or paying for
it as a token of appreciation to how much value I have derived from
software that comes from GNU's stable.

There goes my 2 cents to the donation box :-).

Jambunathan K.