Subject: Re: Apple has released some sources.
To: Ted Lemon <mellon@isc.org>
From: Greg Hudson <ghudson@MIT.EDU>
List: current-users
Date: 03/17/1999 11:29:52
[This conversation doesn't really belong on any NetBSD list, but I'm
going to continue to abuse current-users.]
>> Apple has released some sources...
> Unfortunately, they're not actually Open Source.
This is an interesting question. The Apple Public Source License has
a couple of offensive provisions in it, not least of which is a
termination clause similar in content to the one in the Postfix
license. Bruce Perens has written a polemic against termination
clauses (http://perens.com/Termination.html) claiming that they
violate the Open Source Definition. (He did not give a rationale for
that claim, although I can probably guess what it is.)
The other provision which I find offensive is that to "deploy" derived
works (either to distribute them to others or even just to use them in
your institution for purposes other than R&D) you are required to fill
out a web form at Apple telling them how to get at your changes. Even
if you don't mind jumping through this one hoop, it's obvious that
restrictions like this would become less acceptable when they
multiply.
On the other hand, the OSD does not specifically prohibit either
termination or notification clauses. And the Open Source Initiative
has officially blessed the APSL as being an open source license. I
have written to Eric Raymond about the discrepancy between his opinion
and other developers' like Bruce's. Given my past interactions with
him, he will presumably just ignore the problem. For me, that means
the end of the "open source" honeymoon; I can no longer trust that
what OSI deems "open source" is actually a reasonable license.