[xsd-users] License and Portability

[Peter Backes]

Benjamin,

On Wed, Jul 06, 2011 at 12:36:13PM +0200, Benjamin Schindler wrote:
> Peter, are you a lawyer? If not, well you better consult one, because
> then in the end all you are doing is hand-waving because you are in no
> position to make an informed statement. Legalese is difficult.

This is an argument from authority, and such arguments are always 
invalid. Just because I am not a lawyer does not mean that what I say 
is wrong. I may be wrong, sure. But such an argument from authority 
doesn't do anything to substantiate the claim *that* I am wrong.

> I'm sure Boris has consulted the FSF over this matter so he is probably
> in a good position.

This is arguing with mere possibilities. Has Boris consulted the FSF?  
I have often discussed with the FSF, and usually they offer much better 
solutions than those used for XSD. Maybe the FSF said the XSD way faces 
no major problems (after all, XSD is uncontroversially Free Software), 
but from my impression, they wouldn't endorse or recommend such a 
soltuion.

> Boris has decided to put the generated code under the GPL. So the only
> way to challenge this is consulting a lawyer/the FSF.

No, the way I am challenging it, by arguments, is the only way.  If a 
lawyer or the FSF can challenge this claim then by using valid 
arguments, and it is the fact that these arguments are valid, not that 
they come from FSF/lawyer, that gives them power.  They may have 
better, different arguments and/or disagree with what I say, but this 
is by no means a neccessity.

And many of my arguments are independent from legal questions, for 
example that copyright on generated code is better disclaimed than 
claimed, that copyright on the header library is sufficient to do what 
Boris wants to achieve, and that the FLOSSE should better be replaced 
by something that tries not to be more clever than neccessary.

Regards
Peter

-- 
Peter Backes, rtc at cdl.uni-saarland.de            Office 403
Compiler Design Lab, Saarland University         Campus E1 3
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