[sldev] What is the point of firstlook and giving feedback to LL

[Matthew Dowd]

LL sources are GPL but LL, as the owner of the code, has the right to make their source code available under different negotiated licenses if they wish to do so - and indeed have done so in the case of the CSI viewer.
 
If source contributions are made as GPL, whilst LL could still make the source available as GPL, if LL wished to make the source code available under a different license it would need to seek explicit permission from those contributors. For that permission have legal viability, that permission needs to be signed and attributable to a real person (hence the blanket statement on the jira is not sufficient). 
 
The contributor agreement is essential prior permission to allow LL to do that.
 
Some might have objections to giving LL the right to effectively sell their code if LL wish to do so without going back to the contributor. It should be noted however that
 
a) the majority of patches have no real value outside of the SL viewer
b) you still have full rights to the code yourself under the agreement and can sell or make it available under a free non-GPL license if you wish
c) if the patch does have significant value (e.g. a new algorithm for rendering 3D which delivers high end GPU results on a 8Mhz 8086 processor for example), you do have the option *not* to contribute the source, or negotiate a different license with LL
 
Unfortunately your wish for anonymity is precisely why LL can't accept your patches. If they did accept "Henri Beauchamp"'s patches, and negotiated a commercial license such as an updated CSI viewer, and then some RL French person claimed that LL had distributed code under a non-GPL license which they were not entitled to distribute under a non-GPL license, they would have no evidence to defend themselves to the contrary which would stand up in court. If, on the other hand, they had a document signed by a real person, LL at the very least have evidence acceptable by a court that they acted in good faith.
 
Matthew



> Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:36:43 +0200> From: sldev at free.fr> To: teravus at gmail.com> Subject: Re: [sldev] What is the point of firstlook and giving feedback to LL> CC: sldev at lists.secondlife.com> > On Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:43:37 -0400, Teravus Ovares wrote:> > > This seems a bit like a flame if you won't sign the contribution> > agreement.> > I don't sign the paper they ask because I wish to keep my privacy> and anonimity, like the French Law "Informatique et Liberté"> entitles me to do.> > I don't see why I would give away my mailing address and phone> number to LL just for seeing them use my contributions.> > SL is a game, nothing more for me. I don't intend to give away> things that I keep private in real life (like my phone number,> which is on a "red list", i.e. never published anywhere and> that no company can ever access from a database) for just a game.> > Mind you, in France we do know what the respect of people privacy> and peace means.> > > Why complain that they have not applied your patches if you> > won't follow the project rules?> > I do follow and abide the GPL, and even LL's damned agreement> (see my previous message about contributions to the JIRA), but> I won't give away strictly personal and private data to an> Internet-based company for it, sorry.> > Remember when LL got the Residents' credit card data stollen ?> > Well, call me paranoid, but I never trust Internet-based companies> for keeping private data safe, and I trust them even less as to> what they could do later themselves with this private data.> > 'nuff said.> > Henri.> _______________________________________________> Click here to unsubscribe or manage your list subscription:> /index.html
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