On Sat, Sep 02, 2006 at 11:36:30PM -0400, Charles M. Hannum wrote:
> On Sat, Sep 02, 2006 at 10:53:49PM -0400, Thor Lancelot Simon wrote:
> > Your statement quoted above is wrong.  NetBSD existed well before the
> > lawsuits between USL and the Regents were settled, was contacted by
> > the parties' attorneys at the time of the settlement, and reached an
> > agreement with USL to remove the same files Berkeley did from our own
> > distribution.
> > 
> > But this agreement has a confidentiality clause, which meant that for
> > many years as various people spread nonsense about NetBSD being "tainted"
> > we were not able to respond.  So it is very important to ensure that there
> > is no question about such things in the future, and this is, of course,
> > why we must document that all of the code in our repository is proper,
> > which requires developers to execute agreements stating so.
> 
> Could you please refrain from speaking as if you're an authority on this
> subject?  You weren't even there.  I did the cleansing, and I wrote the
> first version of the aforementioned agreement (which is what most people
> signed), and what you say is at least half hogwash.

I assume you're talking about the developer agreement, because as far as
I'm aware you know precisely as much about the agreement with USL as I
do, and there is certainly nothing in my statement about it which is
"hogwash".  

As to the present necessity and purpose of the developer agreement, it
should be pretty clear that, since you've essentially exiled yourself
from the project for several years in a protest against its management,
you are probably not the right person to ask.  But if you want to
quarrel with me about one of the several reasons I mentioned in my
earlier message (it is growing tiresome to respond to the selective
editing of my own text) be my guest; have it your way; I give up.

As to the history of the developer agreement, I don't dispute anything
in your message to which I'm responding; though I wil note that when I
signed my original agreement in 1996, it was handed to me by JT Conklin,
I handed it right back to him; I undertstand that it eventually made
its way to you, and I'd really appreciate it if you'd send it along to
the membership committee of the NetBSD Foundation sooner or later.

Thor