Thorsten Froehlich  wrote in message <44de0995$1@news.povray.org>:
> Which does NOT apply when the bundle is a Linux distribution ...

That was not true the last time I read the licence. And your are wrong, that
applies when the bundle is a "generally recognised Distribution", which
looks like an attempt for the World Record of Imprecise Legalese.

>						It is neither difficult to
> understand, nor limiting about the bundling of POV-Ray with a Linux
> distribution.

The point is not only about the bundling with a Linux distribution. The
inclusion of a package is also a message to the user. When I find a package
in Debian main, I know without reading the licence there are a few things I
am _always_ allowed to do, and this is an information that is useful to me.
Linux distributions are not just about bundling packages, they are also
about allowing service providers to build custom solutions for corporate
clients, for example. They MUST have a precise and compact set of guidelines
about the licence of packages they accept.

> And if _you_ complain about the license, well, if you enjoy your work being
> ripped off by huge companies for billions of profits, that is your choice.
> It is not that of the POV-Ray developers, and history has unfortunately
> taught us that only a license as lengthy as the one we developed over the
> years allows everybody to enjoy POV-Ray for free, yet prohibits unethical
> types of commercial exploitation.

There are ways to prevent most of the "commercial exploitation" while being
compatible with, for example, Debian Free Software Guidelines. Copyleft, for
example.

There is a balance between the freedom you give to the people you like, and
the restrictions you put on the people you do not like. The more
restrictions you put on the latter, the more often you will find situations
that you would approve, but that the wording of the licence forbids.

The choice is yours, but it has consequences, including the non-inclusion in
Linux distributions, which is somewhat a major annoyance.

It is up to you to decide if you would rather ease the life of people who
like your soft and build a community, or fight Big Bad Capitalists.

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