[WBEL-users] Rsync Updates Organizing

[Lamar Owen]

On Friday 19 November 2004 15:24, Mace.Scott@tatravelcenters.com wrote:
> Oh, goody.  It does not say customers.  They released it outside of their
> organization, they are obligated to supply the source code.

But only to the people that they released the binaries to.  RHEL3 binaries are 
not released to the public; RHEL3 CD sets come with the source code.  End of 
story, and end of Red Hat's obligation.  Fact is Red Hat's Open Source 
Relations people (such as Michael Tiemann, who has toured my site) want to 
release the source to the general public (as opposed to the program's users) 
and they do so, but they are not forced by any license to do so, since their 
'program's users' already have the source code.

> To wit:

> But if you release the modified version to the public in some way, the GPL
> requires you to make the modified source code available to the program's
> users, under the GPL.

It says users.  A user of RHEL3 is free to redistribute RHEL3 all day long; 
but when they do they lose access to the updates and RHN.  Portions (not all) 
of RHEL3 are under GPL, and Red Hat fulfils the GPL by providing source to 
the program's users.  The FSF itself has held up Red Hat's model; google for 
it for yourself.  Since in order to get the binaries you must agree to Red 
Hat's service agreement for Red Hat Network, you are bound to their service's 
use agreement, which becomes void if you redistribute the binary updates (no 
restriction on the source, which is, after all, the GPL's reason for being: 
protecting the program's source code).  GPL ensures source code availability, 
not binary availability.

And since the RHEL3 CD set ships with source code on CD, there is no 'offer' 
clause to invoke.

But, this has nothing to do with the WBEL situation.  Nada.
-- 
Lamar Owen
Director of Information Technology
Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute
1 PARI Drive
Rosman, NC  28772
(828)862-5554
www.pari.edu