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Wireshark-dev: Re: [Wireshark-dev] Update to the COPYING file

From: Ulf Lamping <ulf.lamping@xxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 16 May 2007 22:04:04 +0200
Gerald Combs wrote:
Back in October there was a discussion about the fact that we have a
"click-through" agreement in the Windows installer requiring that users
accept the GPL.  After reading through the thread again, I've updated
the summary in  the COPYING file to read:

--------
Wireshark is distributed under the GNU GPL.  There are no restrictions
on its use.  There are significant restrictions on its distribution.

Parts of Wireshark can be built and distributed as libraries.  These
parts are still covered by the GPL, and NOT by the Lesser General Public
License or any other license.

If you create a combined work using all or part of Wireshark, then your
combined work must be released under a license compatible with the GPL.

...and don't get us started on trademarks.

The full text of the GNU GPL follows.
---------

Sound reasonable?
Hi!

I'm really unhappy with this preamble at all. This sounds to me like we have a special variation of the GPL.

What your basically do is to personally interpret the GPL, in a way that is NOT covered by the GPL, e.g.: "There are significant restrictions on its distribution." This is simply misleading! Distribution of the WS code from wireshark.org is *not* limited in any way - only variants are.

Adding another interpretation of the GPL doesn't make anything better - in fact it make things much worse!

Regards, ULFL

P.S: BTW: Why do you add two spaces after a dot? IMHO this is incorrect, however, I'm not a native speaker/writer!