[scribus] the docs license

[Meho R.]

On Friday 13 April 2012 08:34:08 Peter Linnell wrote:
> 
> As the original doc writer and selector for the docs license, I did a 
> careful survey of available licenses.
> 
> CC did not exist at the time and none of them still do not reflect my 
> exact intent with the license.
> 
> I chose OPL, as it did two things:
> 
> Permitted free distribution and alteration.
> 
> Prevented a commercial interest from benefiting from our benevolent 
> efforts aka reprinting commercially our docs without permission. My 
> desire was that any documentation commercially or otherwise would 
> benefit the project.
> 
> That it is not free enough for Debian legal folks is their issue, not 
> mine. Docs are not code and should not be licensed under the same kind 
> of copyright/license.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Peter

Actually, if there was an issue, it would be yours, Peter, not Debian's :-) They have strict rules which apply to every piece of software/doc and if you want your app/doc included, you must comply to their rules, not they to yours. If you'd rather not having your app/doc provided by default in one of the most important Linux distros, it is your choice and your problem. 

I still think that argument about preventing commercial gain by someone else doesn't hold water, since the docs are already available online. If you and me aren't willing to print and sell the docs for whatever reason, and someone else does decide to do it, don't forget that s/he would also bear all costs (material, promotional and others), as well as the risk of sale not going well. I share a.l.e's view on this: if sale was a success, the Scribus project would benefit the most. Printing and selling the docs might actually be a favor. If it is prevented and doesn't happen, you (the authors and the Scribus project) didn't benefit at all. Zero. If it does happen, and even if you don't benefit financially, you'd most certainly benefit in other ways, as in marketing (advertising, promotion...), increase in user base etc. for which you didn't have to pay a single cent. If the seller becomes a millionaire from the sale, that would happen only because there are tens or hundreds of thousend of (new) users who are interested in Scribus and are willing to (start to) use it. In this case, be sure that the Scribus project will get sky-rocketed in every possible way...