From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: from eggs.gnu.org (eggs.gnu.org [IPv6:2001:470:142:3::10]) by sourceware.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id ACFE3396E07B for ; Thu, 1 Jul 2021 08:19:41 +0000 (GMT) DMARC-Filter: OpenDMARC Filter v1.4.1 sourceware.org ACFE3396E07B Received: from linux-libre.fsfla.org ([209.51.188.54]:36234 helo=free.home) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtps (TLS1.2:ECDHE_RSA_AES_256_GCM_SHA384:256) (Exim 4.90_1) (envelope-from ) id 1lyrv9-000319-PH; Thu, 01 Jul 2021 04:19:40 -0400 Received: from livre (livre.home [172.31.160.2]) by free.home (8.15.2/8.15.2) with ESMTPS id 1618JVwr185871 (version=TLSv1.2 cipher=ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 bits=256 verify=NOT); Thu, 1 Jul 2021 05:19:31 -0300 From: Alexandre Oliva To: "Bradley M. Kuhn" Cc: libc-alpha@sourceware.org Subject: Re: Seeking input from developers: glibc copyright assignment policy. Organization: Free thinker, not speaking for the GNU Project References: <877dibhvbz.fsf@ebb.org> Errors-To: aoliva@lxoliva.fsfla.org Date: Thu, 01 Jul 2021 05:19:31 -0300 In-Reply-To: <877dibhvbz.fsf@ebb.org> (Bradley M. Kuhn's message of "Wed, 30 Jun 2021 14:54:40 -0700") Message-ID: User-Agent: Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Emacs/25.2 (gnu/linux) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain X-Scanned-By: MIMEDefang 2.84 X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.0 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00, KAM_DMARC_STATUS, SPF_HELO_PASS, SPF_PASS, TXREP autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on server2.sourceware.org X-BeenThere: libc-alpha@sourceware.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.29 Precedence: list List-Id: Libc-alpha mailing list List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Thu, 01 Jul 2021 08:19:43 -0000 Hello, Bradley, Thank you for taking the time to try to influence this community in a direction that is more conducive to our shared goals of promoting software freeom than what is being considered. I've remained mainly silent in this debate, because I feel the climate and the perceived allegiances I hold, and the emotional rather than strategic motivations behind these pressure campaigns, are unlikely to help my arguments be heard, or, worse, are likely to have them taken as something to be opposed. I'm glad someone like you, who AFAICT is not afflicted by these perceptions, has made so clear the risks of corporate takeover, and of copyleft dilution into meaninglessness. Thank for having done this. I'd like to subscribe to your recommendation that we don't make this decision in a hurry, and that we don't take lightly the loss of the primary leverage we have to keep copyrights, and thus copyleft enforcement powers, in the hands of organizations that can normally be counted on to pursue them, and to amount to a credible threat to those considering deviating from them, instead of approaching these matters under the shadow of usual corporate interests. Even if some believe a policy change away from assignments to the FSF may make things better, they should consider whether they'd really prefer contributors' employers to keep the copyrights instead. As soon as the possibility of not contributing copyrights is instated, employers will have little reason to give much consideration to employee's requests for assignments or disclaimers. The leverage will be gone, and existing contracts in which employees counted on project's requirements and consequent corporate assignments to land copyrights in hands that are aligned with and committed to software freedom, may be turned into corporate-held copyrights, without any actions o even awareness by employees, by having the corporation unilaterally terminating the assignment for future contributions. Some may welcome these policy changes as a means to defy and hurt the FSF and RMS, but ultimately it will hurt harder the project's goals, and those of its contributors. I'm sure those who are seeding dissent from behind the curtains, spreading lies, reinforcing incorrect perceptions, and promoting self-defeating strategies within our ranks, don't mind at all if we hurt each other and our projects. -- Alexandre Oliva, happy hacker https://FSFLA.org/blogs/lxo/ Free Software Activist GNU Toolchain Engineer Disinformation flourishes because many people care deeply about injustice but very few check the facts. Ask me about