Re: Permission to use portions of the recent GNU Emacs Manual

["Robert J. Chassell" <bob@rattlesnake.com>]

   ... Emacs is only part of my life, free software advocacy is
   only part of my life.  

But your choice of licenses does not take up much time -- less time
than Emacs.  You need choose once and then the licenses do the work.

If you go by the default of copyright, you promote monopoly
restriction; if you go by the GPL, you promote freedom ...  but you
need not spend your time being an advocate who acts.

   I prefer the simplicity of advocating ...

These sound like actions you do.

   To me, the Emacs or XEmacs license is an instrument to enable
   sharing, no more, no less.

Right.  So you if you favor that kind of freedom, you will choose a
license that enables it.  You will not need to act beyond making the
choice (and filling out legal paper work, getting your employer or
university to permit you to do so, as needed).  It does not take much
time.

   ... It distresses me that licensing issues (and related legal
   flummery), however necessary, get in the way of sharing.

Well, we do not live in a world filled with people who always want to
share.  It would be much nicer if we did.  Please complain to those
who have caused these bad laws and please, if you feel like advocacy,
try to change them.  In any case, please do not help the bad guys
passively, when you can help the good guys passively (except for a
fairly short time when you choose licenses and/or handle legal paper
work that is imposed on you by the bad guys).

-- 
    Robert J. Chassell                         
    bob@rattlesnake.com                         GnuPG Key ID: 004B4AC8
    http://www.rattlesnake.com                  http://www.teak.cc