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Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 22:01:52 -0500
From: Christopher Faylor <cgf AT redhat DOT com>
To: cygwin AT cygwin DOT com
Subject: Re: Distributing .ISO files.
Message-ID: <20030304030152.GA1598@redhat.com>
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On Mon, Mar 03, 2003 at 05:32:49PM -0600, Robert Citek wrote:
>
>At 03:19 PM 3/3/2003 -0800, d DOT williams AT k7 DOT net wrote:
>>I would like to post an .ISO file I compiled for myself to my website, 
>>making it available to anyone who wants it.  It is a snapshot of the 
>>full distribution (less sources) from one of the mirror sites, to 
>>allow for installation on
>
>Short answer: include the sources, even if it is another ISO.  Otherwise
>you get into all kinds of grumblings and legal talk.
>
>To FAQ maintainers:
>
>This topic (distributing Cygwin) is becoming more and more common.  Perhaps
>this item should be in the FAQ.  If it is, it needs to be made more obvious
>not just "read the GPL."  There's nothing wrong with redundancy to
>emphasize the importance of the GPL.

You are naive.  If it was a simple as putting something on a web site,
this wouldn't be an issue.  People believe what they want to believe.
They think that free software or open source means "download and use any
way I want".  Since providing sources is an inconvenience (you can't put
sources and binaries on one CD!) there will always be a tendency towards
wishful thinking along the lines of "Maybe they don't understand the
GPL".  That's the best case scenario.  Worst case is that they don't even
think about it at all and just provide binaries without looking anywhere
on the cygwin web site, which is surely the most common case.

>For example:
>  Q: How can I redistribute Cygwin?  Can I distribute just the binaries or
>do I really need to include the source?  What about just a pointer to the
>sources?
>  A: However you like: http site, ftp site, rsync, ISO, DVD, floppy, USB
>stick, whatever.  You must include the sources (or access to them from your
>site) not just URLs to the sources on someone else's site.  The easiest way
>to do this is to put the sources on the CD or site or however you plan to
>distribute Cygwin.  For more info, see the GPL, in particular section 3:
>  (http://cygwin.com/faq/faq.html#SEC136)
>Failure to include sources violates the GPL.

If there are more words required for the GPL, then all we need to do is
point to the FSF web site.  We are not going to get into the business of
reinterpreting it at the Cygwin web site.

cgf

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