Re: Release plans

[bob@rattlesnake.com (Robert J. Chassell)]

"Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@xemacs.org>, are you saying that
copyright law does not have to do with copying between people?

My part of this started after Johannes Weiner <hannes@saeurebad.de>
wrote

    > Whether one loads proprietary modules into the kernel is a
    > personal decision and I don't like deciding for other people.

and I wrote

    No; it is not a personal decision.  When you load proprietary
    modules, you are telling those who pay attention that you do not
    mind restricting yourself.

He did not understand what I meant, so I wrote

    You are not being personal when you make a decision involving others ...

"Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@xemacs.org> wrote, which I disagreed with 
with respect to the actual practice of law

     >     Freedom *means* that you may do something without concern for
     >     interference from your government or your neighbors. ...

The question is whether software copying studying, modifying, and
redistributing over the next generation will remain as legal or illegal
as it has in the past generation.  (Copyright law and treaties count in
lawful areas; I am presuming, perhaps erronously, that areas that ignore
that law when people are bribed millions of US dollars do not grow
much bigger in the next generation.  Generally speaking, free software
support companies lack the resources to bribe a huge amount.)

I agree it is important to emphasize the importance of software freedom,
to emphasize the costs, and to provide good software.

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