From ff62e1afca4f8c4527f9057463584de93d42d432 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Niels G. W. Serup" Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2013 20:59:45 +0100 Subject: [PATCH] Changed my license opinion once again, now in favour of WTFPL. --- site/about/index.org | 34 +++++------ site/about/javascript.org | 2 +- site/about/links.org | 8 +-- site/about/niels.org | 8 ++- site/img/licenses/wtfpl.png | Bin 0 -> 2975 bytes site/index.org | 6 +- site/projects/hbcht/index.org | 8 +-- site/writings/bash-prompt.org | 2 +- site/writings/freesoftware.org | 5 +- site/writings/non-copylefted.org | 84 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ site/writings/software-licenses.org | 10 +++- 11 files changed, 126 insertions(+), 41 deletions(-) create mode 100644 site/img/licenses/wtfpl.png create mode 100644 site/writings/non-copylefted.org diff --git a/site/about/index.org b/site/about/index.org index be2fdd7..a97d2e0 100644 --- a/site/about/index.org +++ b/site/about/index.org @@ -1,6 +1,7 @@ #+title: About metanohi #+summary: A short description of what metanohi is -#+license: bysa +#+license: wtfpl +#+startup: showall #&toc * About metanohi @@ -22,19 +23,19 @@ widget on the propaganda page, might cease to work). ** Copying -In general, text, images, and other media on metanohi is licensed under the -[[http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/][Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0]] license, a *copyleft* -license. There may be cases with other licenses. The status of a page can be -seen in the bottom in a metadata box. If no license is specified in the box, -it's either because someone forgot to apply one to the page, or it's because -the page has almost no content (like the "Page not found" page) and does not -really require a license. +In general, text, images, code and any other type of work on metanohi are +available under the [[http://www.wtfpl.net/][Do What The Fuck You Want To Public License (WTFPL)]]; read +about this choice [[/writings/non-copylefted][here]]. There may be cases with other licenses. The status of +a page can be seen in the bottom in a metadata box. If no license is specified +in the box, it's either because I forgot to apply one to the page, or it's +because the page has almost no content (like the "Page not found" page) and does +not really require a license. #+caption: Free cultural works #&img;url=/img/licenses/freecontent.png, float=right Most of metanohi's content can be defined as free cultural works, as defined by -[[http://freedomdefined.org/][freedomdefined.org]]. +[[http://freedomdefined.org/][freedomdefined.org]]. Most of it is also [[http://copyfree.org/][copyfree]]. In all cases, you are free to redistribute content from metanohi, but please don't set up a mirror for no reason (who would do that, anyway?). @@ -42,19 +43,10 @@ don't set up a mirror for no reason (who would do that, anyway?). External content is sometimes a different matter. [[./media-licenses][A list of licenses for media]] is used for attributing in cases where it is impractical to attribute in-page. -If you take something from metanohi that is not under a public-domain-like -license, you are required to attribute Niels G. W. Serup and metanohi. When -doing that, write something like "Niels G. W. Serup, [[http://metanohi.name/][metanohi.name]]". +If you use something from metanohi, please attribute Niels G. W. Serup and +metanohi (unless it's not by Niels, which is rare). When doing that, write +something like "Niels G. W. Serup, [[http://metanohi.name/][metanohi.name]]". -A few pages, like [[/projects/][this one]], have a lot of Python code for in-page evaluation -and execution. This might not be the most secure thing to allow, but since only -one person can change it, it is deemed safe enough. Any such nontrivial code is -licensed under the same license as [[/projects/mege/][mege]], i.e. AGPLv3+, unless otherwise -noted. This might seem like overkill in some situations, but with only one -license in use, simplicity is achieved. - -Note that the CC BY-SA license is used by default, which is why even pages with -no more than two lines bear that license. ** Source diff --git a/site/about/javascript.org b/site/about/javascript.org index 39b6149..663a8a1 100644 --- a/site/about/javascript.org +++ b/site/about/javascript.org @@ -1,6 +1,6 @@ #+title: JavaScript License Information #+summary: A table of the JavaScript used on metanohi -#+license: cc0 +#+license: wtfpl * JavaScript License Information diff --git a/site/about/links.org b/site/about/links.org index f06f675..ce4992c 100644 --- a/site/about/links.org +++ b/site/about/links.org @@ -1,6 +1,7 @@ #+title: Links #+summary: Various links. -#+license: cc0 +#+license: wtfpl +#+startup: showall #++show #+BEGIN_SRC javascript @@ -14,7 +15,7 @@ * Hyperlinks -My first web pages from ~2004 contained pages whose only purpose was to show +My first web pages from ca. 2004 contained pages whose only purpose was to show links to other sites, because that's what you use websites for. With this page I intend to carry on with this tradition. @@ -66,5 +67,4 @@ Beware, for the following Hyperlinks contain Knowledge! [fn:oxymoron] "Passive activism" is an oxymoron. Activism is, of course, not a - passive thing. But having links stowed on the front of one's web page - certainly is. + passive thing. But links stowed on a web page certainly is. diff --git a/site/about/niels.org b/site/about/niels.org index c7dd45a..4bbc95f 100644 --- a/site/about/niels.org +++ b/site/about/niels.org @@ -1,6 +1,7 @@ #+title: About Niels #+summary: A short description of metanohi's creator -#+license: bysa +#+license: wtfpl +#+startup: showall #&toc * About Niels @@ -172,9 +173,12 @@ EOTFhRXYSWReVaHWxduolu5YplmQHYj1LtGm4p6659ymKr80tzWAg3LK7AzDXRQ+ ** Photo -#&img;url=img/niels-eyes.png, width=600, center, caption=Niels +#&img;url=img/niels-eyes.png, width=600, center, caption=Niels (kind of) ** Misc. #&img;url=img/fsfmember.png, medlink=http://www.fsf.org/associate/support_freedom/join_fsf?referrer=8085 + +(I'm not currently a member due to my student economy, but I might become a +member again later on.) diff --git a/site/img/licenses/wtfpl.png b/site/img/licenses/wtfpl.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d039d0b9c044cf195d3d0ea6a0c11d0b0b44fc94 GIT binary patch literal 2975 zcmWkw2RK|?7rnX+AxaQY5+u=s-y3c8(LyHSP4I?@7A-`L9>nO08ok#{1Wy-?-g^nc z==DV#y#yiu$-VoW^WAgrcfY;%-fNv5{uHHg9mWoWAn3Z5CQ=WqhG1}0Q-ax|2et?n zN^@-uB=q~wo!yB02zIVHY5wC1K{QN%1__j!&IUHA+_WC6QO(lcX63r6{nx!O;GM7* zQW*w?v~*%N6!$PC)iH1t-AA`xX-}gg=_TO~_U0wI;^S1U zG3VWOsaLj_7Fu$nVFHl_A`wf3&%A2F)de@l5(Ngts@la`2E+y~iZ9yb!(2Mq#igHdoeM=? zUS4u?vXU5EkX|7YgJG}2h>Y9)B^{+I&CxYA#a65@wCyhEtH5n3aZ686FMGl+XVm6S ztmYN{Y*PEHZ% zUf$%C6q4b?8{x>9{FEuN?>?RJ-Jl-1y1cMm>r3E^)m&dN zmUmo{j>Tqi;?I`{M5Y<<_Yu;2}DH#@kvltdtO=oODf9v}avs;(ocF%(8Wd!|-i zUhd&WDj*<$HZahDr$qw)GZ0>J2L}f%v@NbKWu4}&-Q51P*w%noZ^FaFM>gC>Y$RhI z6*%GN$_#~pQ3tCGh{EA4vKe%k5*Ao6sYxj-h!GnXSJ%LR4zoey#SVVz>c6z)eQ&dJ z!?L#*?zD7tqKJsSGv6xkuq=%#V`PsEnfJSJuyb%IC^9JhHZVYY=BwaRXY97WtTx^3 zuUPUNpU4cOc&4xaEk`x9#~wa*bR-ErIq*bSmK(0)cboDar@?iNjnhqiV>OX)-n_Ad zr)?ZHCDC@7%R^I{uJcHa(cP9Crky0Zw3hTj-O=%(t7D@{^b>_MataCx z2#W6Jb@DGnM}VsEYG1+llpB7Snlgl1P8a;6Q&ZW~Wn4oxgaidm#n{B;<*(!CqO3E$ zDB)?3#kz(v7q&rjI=TB{+1()_cN5;mm&++bNZf?v_nb)Be8ja4z;i$6w&Nl{i zJ9g&qT6~P+N3Jd|>mZeu-bE9SN}I1_6A}~kY;6TfFx3&MX=&j<&b&PCUYrmuP6`SN z(0~7}`c5f;z#;9Vq{Qk{m)>-FV&o#5At^1b$^G_7H{O6l-a9@ltj1wReSd#HU$1a| z1DAE5C->8*`(M6%NtN;jGc{CQRW(p(AeeCUb0vDX@P8>fd`Z6_8~L1U-{r~W)rc~l z#HumG&%Kty7#X!5B2=3yDj3(+*0$>!8#$@yxscY@4`k)!MkgmjJ35d~98y2}0Fbaw z^K@zFz~jQwQh?@HtG$W$#y$Jl+E{s?Mw6=QYUP}#N}@@5#l^yQvxS8MP=L;TRU@O@ zl$4ZrKK3T>{M=ueDl;Ric|F&6Za-Il^ETYRWq+lc!r~S!CG*Xjh7I(0dkR z8+}Hnr~BOG+_#mKl}RcpDzZmy*jkW5S66;}2>NnET8Lj*7^$z%B5GUX7+I6S@Sp-yBDFkb#Ga)aG-$=-i9_MA#-iQ!uv^^R z(J<~pGz?nwG8y4v($dsa!eCOf7kYZA0o!~~D3rRodPu;14mv76#%n+?(Sixt&0`zC z@X2v;flksNfNgKvzuU1|EBQL#HZpP}BqU_7|6wzd)m~5Ush(b7TpT0R0xqJLQ+~}2 zhF}$v*s!H&Q!#$S0BX;}{at&msGwbY$lA3L$-^LQCCw4Cup6q$$2hQrp&#n&Ynv!C zh>edADlRUbIaq9MRW@$$jFll&OQh)o>;c?8N)Id3h1)6~OV&#N-*G zl^GK?IeEQi1$Aiq2P58Gv>>52wlgim*vfJ3zm-nv7I!>n&eQc8lGipiN)8UhhV#F1 zC^Huq#>U3Rsp?lrcMe`(GmTWoCMUD~^i_ab05${{JtHF{1Obtf%|JQ%%DetY3$hME zWGazDPL?I-L1$HY3ya0px^2WMB_$Us{rk+Z|sg85$Z28MQ(3Gn=0+ z>ytDAWbsJinj_63P+6ze7{Zf-bH}yP*A43^T zQ_XvAG$Ww?1!df~*=XdWR?5sfVfmjv1^(~?j1h}!_>Sd0tePRZZeB4}SPinnsqk}L z3699hcD>R`8pPICX>-?To(AC%ORo?{ulVc6%a<>8dmjMaOiWCOvC(?2L`vnF@O|vv z+bk;0t*>Wyc6R=NzfMV(nwm=9TiwvW!O?ve(D+A|f7j8`Q3Dhm9sS#YB(c}>Y0*US zV8RhW*U8f}IpY0$3XR6)W%JF=O-7DegI52Wn4BDw+ig%ast@J&uf;Y`z2L+R8e{IdM7yuhKhdU~<(>+BG1XjohJ#rF94 zc)Nkqwm<11&avq%1Q4Tg#VfOINi109F6H*#o>+BF&9~K6zRHx6=&=5^+(w^Mz1Oe* zU6fBrNg1D=)oC@2Nk={SOHxv}!Q~}Cb1rc5v$vDEIgi71RXF?Y+r5?&AQ{YcbFV9A zh~tx!8hDT0PXG+#`%bj3uJQ}NvwN3kKeASxqkFVs?&vHL4jr{`e#Z=NU;3(FmHd~dAi2Ih`9&ihr<(DL@>xd5WtTy6_(cua5xRZ zBR4vrCzTXkx^k_Jp_mT40w*+h? z5{c{U>n)DWmm#C0y6y|gf(bn0;tX|lb^M~DU1ao#fHB;YmB|;ScP||;!V?VWMF}I(){#brjs;nXgf*TU%l`h@&X<8jC2;zN<&&|DCEB?rh)$l DP#wl; literal 0 HcmV?d00001 diff --git a/site/index.org b/site/index.org index f7b169d..481d9c6 100644 --- a/site/index.org +++ b/site/index.org @@ -1,6 +1,6 @@ -#+title: Home +#+title: Beginning #+summary: This is the start page. -#+license: cc0 +#+license: wtfpl * Meta-meta-meta-meta-meta-metanohi! @@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ If you're not the type who crawls through the entirety of a website when you visit it, here's the author's pick of metanohi pages you should read: + <@eval macros.titlelink('/writings/atem')@> -+ <@eval macros.titlelink('/writings/software-licenses')@> ++ <@eval macros.titlelink('/writings/non-copylefted')@> + [[http://suum.metanohi.name/][SUUM]] + <@eval macros.titlelink('/projects/sleinlib')@> + <@eval macros.titlelink('/projects/magicng')@> diff --git a/site/projects/hbcht/index.org b/site/projects/hbcht/index.org index 5091fb1..87fc3b5 100644 --- a/site/projects/hbcht/index.org +++ b/site/projects/hbcht/index.org @@ -2,8 +2,8 @@ #&summary An esoteric programming language with compiler/interpreter #& -#+license: bysa, text -#+license: agpl 3+, program +#+license: wtfpl +#+startup: showall #&toc * Half-Broken Car in Heavy Traffic @@ -107,9 +107,7 @@ output as a text string instead of a list of numbers. ** Download -hbcht is released under the AGPLv3+. - -[[hbcht-0.1.0.tar.gz][Download]]. +hbcht is released under the WTFPL. [[hbcht-0.1.0.tar.gz][Download]]. hbcht can also be found in the [[http://pypi.python.org/pypi/hbcht][Python Package Index]]. hbcht has its code at Gitorious; see [[http://gitorious.org/hbcht]]. diff --git a/site/writings/bash-prompt.org b/site/writings/bash-prompt.org index 2ff499b..9b59080 100644 --- a/site/writings/bash-prompt.org +++ b/site/writings/bash-prompt.org @@ -1,4 +1,4 @@ -#+title: My BASH prompt +#+title: My BASH prompt (outdated) #&summary What my prompt used to do and what it looked like. #& diff --git a/site/writings/freesoftware.org b/site/writings/freesoftware.org index a999a40..87ff8ba 100644 --- a/site/writings/freesoftware.org +++ b/site/writings/freesoftware.org @@ -1,6 +1,7 @@ #+title: Free software #+summary: An explanation of the necessity of free software -#+license: bysa +#+startup: showall +#+license: cc0 * Free software @@ -12,7 +13,7 @@ print(inp.lower()) Or at least it's a very small part of one. It reads text input from a user, transforms the text to lowercase, and prints the transformed text. It is very simple. Larger programs are often far less simple, as they may contain -implementations of complex algorithms or involve human interaction. +implementations of complex algorithms or involve human interaction. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSA][RSA]] and [[http://www.openssl.org/][OpenSSL]] are examples of this, RSA being an algorithm which requires several subalgorithms to work, and OpenSSL being the large implementation of diff --git a/site/writings/non-copylefted.org b/site/writings/non-copylefted.org new file mode 100644 index 0000000..669d52b --- /dev/null +++ b/site/writings/non-copylefted.org @@ -0,0 +1,84 @@ +#+title: My works, non-copylefted +#&summary +Why I don't use copyleft for my own works. +#& +#+startup: showall +#+license: wtfpl + +A few months ago, I went from using the GPL for most of my software to BSD3; +read about it [[/writings/software-licenses][here]]. I chose to continue to use Creative Commons +Attribution-ShareAlike for most of my non-software works. + +Now, I have chosen to stop copylefting my original works entirely. + +I do this not because of a change in my general view of copyleft, but because I +don't see myself ever using the legal benefits of copyleft; I can still +understand why someone would choose to use copyleft to challenge copyright, +fighting fire with fire, but it's just not something I would do. + +The power of copyright lies in whether people accept the terms that an author +puts forth, and that, if the copyright is abused, the author uses the law to +punish the abusers. The same is essentially true for copyleft. So, if I +release a work under e.g. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike, and someone +derives a new work from that and does not copyleft that, I have the power to +make them change that decision; I could contact them and try to convince them to +be nice and free their work; I could contact them and say they *must* free the +work because of the law; and I could even /sue/ them for not freeing their work! + +Until now I have, without really realizing it, used copyleft licenses only for +the signal they send: If you create something new from something I have made +free, please make your work free as well. I never thought about what would +happen and what I would do if someone broke the law and didn't follow my +copyleft. I probably should have thought about that at the beginning, but hey, +I just wanted to make my works freely available and modifiable and hope that +others would do the same! + +While I don't think it is wrong to use even lawsuits for upholding copyleft, +it's not something I would /ever/ do. If someone takes a copylefted work and +abuses it, the community does not lose works; it simply does not gain them. +Arguing against this argument would be the same as asserting that Hollywood +loses money when people do not pay for digital, made-at-no-cost copies of their +films -- a view I certainly don't agree with. + +Of course, I might never have to enter a lawsuit to uphold copyleft. Maybe just +asking the abuser would be enough in all cases. But since this very page is +public, the abuser would realize that I don't intend to sue in any case, so they +might just ignore my request. And I don't intend to manipulate people into +making them think I would sue them. + +It's not my impression that there has been a lot of court cases involving +copyleft; most of the license violations seem to be handled without the need for +lawsuits, though I guess both lawyers and the threat of lawsuits are still quite +used. The FSF's [[https://www.fsf.org/licensing/compliance][Compliance Lab]] gives a good impression of the potential +difficulty of fixing license violations. I don't mind this compliance fixing, +but in principle I am a bit against spending time making evil people relicense +works when time could be spent making good people create new, free works. In +the long run, this will surely result in more good, free works, though forcing +someone evil to relicence might be practical in the short run. + +In essence: Copyright is so hopelessly broken, and personally I'm not going to +fight copyright with itself. This is because I'm not going to depend its and +copyleft's legal benefits, and that is because I would only depend on something +broken if I found it /very/ necessary and not just useful in the short run. I +just want to share my works freely, and if someone who uses my works don't want +to do that, I'll simply ignore them. My walking away from copyleft makes my +works usable by more people. + +#&img;url=/img/licenses/wtfpl.png,float=right +So, from now on I'll use the [[http://www.wtfpl.net/][Do What The Fuck You Want To Public License (WTFPL)]] +for all my original works, software and culture alike. I don't think that the +"fuck" in the license is a problem. I also thought about using Creative Commons +Zero, but even though [[http://wiki.creativecommons.org/CC0_FAQ][it can be used for software]], [[http://opensource.org/licenses/index.html][OSI has not approved it]] +because of [[http://projects.opensource.org/pipermail/license-review/2012-February/thread.html][a patent clause]] ([[https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#CC0][FSF has approved it]], and it's also DFSG-free), so it +might be unpractical. WTFPL has been approved by the FSF. [[http://opensource.org/minutes20090304][OSI rejected it]], but +that's because they didn't consider it a license and not because they disagreed +with any of the (1) clauses in the WTFPL, so I don't think using the WTFPL will +pose any practical problems. I'll still contribute to copyleft works, though I +might mention this URL. + +I was a bit inspired by [[http://blog.ninapaley.com/2013/01/18/ahimsa-sita-sings-the-blues-now-cc-0-public-domain/][Nina Paley's change to CC 0 from CC BY-SA]]. I think her +story is scary. + +My first copylefted program to be un-copylefted is the generator for this +website which used to be under the AGPL. I'll relicense the rest of my works on +a need-to-basis (there are so many, and I have other stuff to do). diff --git a/site/writings/software-licenses.org b/site/writings/software-licenses.org index 69007f0..08d29d2 100644 --- a/site/writings/software-licenses.org +++ b/site/writings/software-licenses.org @@ -1,10 +1,16 @@ -#+title: My choices of software licenses +#+title: My choices of software licenses (outdated) #&summary -Which licenses do I use, and why? +Which licenses did I use, and why? #& #+startup: showall #+license: bysa +#&+classes=warning +This is an old opinion of mine, but its arguments still hold if one assumes that +copyleft is very important. See <@eval +macros.titlelink('/writings/non-copylefted')@> for my updated opinion. +#& + * My choices of software licenses I like strong copyleft, the stuff found in the GNU General Public License, the