Mailinglist Archive: opensuse-project (144 mails)

[<susedevel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Let's break this down, or attempt to. With many open source projects, there are
developers whom want to contribute to the open source with their code, like many
people in this community. Essential, what I am gathering, is that Microsoft won't
force their patents on anyone whom wants to contribute to OpenSuSE. Microsoft
naturally has patents, and people are concerned that they are going to bring
their patents into open source. They will not force their patents onto anyone
whom is contributing their developments onto OpenSuSE. We know that with the GPL,
microsoft can't assert patents on OpenSuSE the OS, the Patent Pledge is to let us
know that they won't attack the individuals whom make OpenSuSE.org possible. 

It's more to protect MS than us it seems. Since Microsoft is going to be
contributing, they will have "patents" on the software they contribute but they
are letting us know that they won't impose the same patents on anyone else
developing. In the end, we can all do what we've been doing. Microsoft isn't
going to make us follow their patents when we do our development. Nothing has
changed too much for us. 

onto that other thing with Novell owning what we say, taht's not it at all. What
it is, what is said here, no one owns. So if Novell, or anyone else, decides to
take what is said in say a forum and put it in their marketing material, they
can. If I decide to write a magazine article containing information from this
mailing list, I can. It's like, Open Source for words.  

I am not into fighting either. Part of me is content with the pact, part of me is
not. I am not a fan of MS at all, I've used solely Linux for 2 years now and I am
glad I haven't looked back. One thing I wish we had though was the ability to use
certain Microsoft software like iTunes or TaxCut on Linux. That's why I am happy
about this because of the inter operability issue. I am upset because it's
Microsoft. I don't want an OS with a bunch of Microsoft's applications on it. A
few, maybe, but not a lot. To a degree, Novell needed to do this in order to help
make SuSE more appealing to businesses. That's what SLED and SLES are for,
business. OpenSuSE is meant to be like a consumer Linux. Just for the average
person. We'll see what happens. 

Microsoft is also trying to make their own sort of community.  

On Sat Nov 18 18:22 , Saill White  sent:

>On 11/18/2006 04:06 PM, Peter Flodin wrote:
>> So I would say, yes Novell can enter in to agreements in regard to
>> openSUSE.org
>
>Got it. I guess. So this is not true then:
>On 11/18/2006 10:02 AM, susedevel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
>> OpenSuSE has no such third party software nor does it have corporate support. If
>> you have problems you have to check out the forums. It'd be REALLY hard for
>> Microsoft to force their patents on OpenSuse mainly because it's open source.
>
>The preamble to "Microsoft’s Patent Pledge for Individual Contributors to
openSUSE.org" states:
>>  From time to time, individual developers wish to contribute their authored
code to openSUSE.org projects. It is Microsoft’s intent that this pledge be
legally binding and enforceable as to such individual contributors according to
the terms below. 
>I agree that "openSUSE.org" doesn't sound like a legal entity. Is Microsoft
talking about people who send electronically transmit code to the IP address that
hosts openSUSE.org? What about people who instead submit code to the slightly
different Novell IP address that hosts forge.novell.com. Geez, you'd think with
all those lawyers they'd be a little more thorough.
>
>Finally the only legal agreement I can find between Novell and independent
contributors to OpenSUSE and NovellForge is as follows: 
>
>> 
>> User Submissions
>> 
>> Any material, information or other communication You transmit or post to this
web site (including, but not limited to, ideas, suggestions, feedback, bug
identification, content, code, copyrighted materials or materials protected by
other intellectual property laws) will be considered non-confidential and
non-proprietary communications. Novell will have no obligations with respect to
the communications. Novell and its designees will be free to copy, disclose,
distribute, incorporate and otherwise use the communications and all data,
images, sounds, text and other things embodied therein for any and all commercial
or non-commercial purposes. 
>
>So anything that anyone sends to OpenSUSE or NovellForge immediately becomes the
property of Novell. Novell itself has no special legal relationship with it's
contributors. Therefore, I don't understand how Microsoft can purport to have
such a relationship through an agreement reached with Novell. Seems like Novell's
giving away something that doesn't belong to them.
>
>By the way, I'm not interested in fighting, quite the opposite. The way I see
it, Novell has left Suse in a dark dead-end alley with a mean bully. I'm looking
for unlocked doors to escape through.
>
>> Pflodo
>> Peter Flodin
>> 
>
>Saill
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