From: Kevin Sindhu <kevin.sindhu@lucifer.at>
Subject: Re: Licensing questions for misc djb and djb-related packages
Date: Sun, 2 Sep 2001 18:25:57 -0700

> This has been a major cause of problems between obsd/DJB. How are you
> packaging this? Where does it go(dir)? Have you asked DJB for his
> "explict" permission? What chances/changes would you need if you ever
> modified/updated this code? And would this need talking to DJB time
> and again?

Doesn't the following from http://cr.yp.to/softwarelaw.html:

  Free software

  What does all this mean for the free software world? Once you've
  legally downloaded a program, you can compile it. You can run
  it. You can modify it.  You can distribute your patches for other
  people to use. If you think you need a license from the copyright
  holder, you've been bamboozled by Microsoft. As long as you're not
  distributing the software, you have nothing to worry about.

give the impression that non-binary NetBSD packages are fine?  

My understanding is that all a non-binary package contains is
instructions for downloading, patching, compiling, and (de)installing.
It doesn't contain modified source or binaries -- it doesn't even
contain the original source code.  I do not see how the two are
incompatible.

> I'd say this is more a hassle than its worth. Plus, how hard is it for
> anyone to compile and install them anyway? 

It certainly helps to have packages from an administrative
perspective.  If several people are using the software, it seems silly
to duplicate the effort.  But we all know this already ;-)

> Do you really wanna follow/start a holy war between NetBSD/DJB
> when(if) such problems ever arise?

I want no such thing -- I'm not convinced there is a problem.