[copyleft-next] Network access to Corresponding Source

Joshua Gay jgay at fsf.org
Sat Feb 9 00:54:23 UTC 2013


On 02/08/2013 06:05 PM, Kuno Woudt wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> On 02/08/2013 10:49 PM, Joshua Gay wrote:
>> ## Stuff I'm not sure about
>>
>> * Requiring the user to use a version control systems (e.g., providing
>> access only over a "git clone" statement).
> 
> I think this should be allowed.  The source code is in general aimed at
> developers (what are you going to do with the source code if you're not
> a developer?), 

You might ask someone who knows how to program to make changes to the
program for you.

Consider this example. Let's say I work in a medical clinic and I buy a
device that has a lot of software on it. In the future it might become
buggy or I might want to get the software upgraded (recompile with a new
version of the kernel and other parts, etc). I might want to download a
save a copy of the complete and corresponding source because it may go
away in a few years and the manufacture might not be required to
continue providing it online.


Also, one thing that concerns me is that people won't provide a copy of
the Corresponding Source. They might point people to check out the trunk
of the source, which could be a newer version that does not correspond
with the current binary that is running. So even if we can assume that a
link to a git repo is OK, I hope that very clear and simple instructions
for getting the *Corresponding Source* would be provided and not just
the latest source.



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