On Mon, 2008-09-29 at 17:23 -0500, Mike Miller wrote:
> > > Is SSL non-free?  I didn't know that.
> >
> > Yes, the FSF has been very aggressive about protecting the phrase Free 
> > Software.  They define it as software having GPL compatable licensing. 
> > Which OpenSSL (really the only implimentation of SSL that matters) does 
> > not have.
> 
> Interesting.  I found some info here:
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenSSL#Licensing
> 
> It is a fairly trivial deviation from freeness, but it is a deviation.
> Stallman probably pursues it because he won't use non-free and he
> wants them to change the license.  It is good code and he could use
> it!

For clarification on the OpenSSL license, please see below.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Richard M. Stallman <rms at gnu.org>
Date: Mon, Oct 6, 2008 at 1:30 PM
Subject: Re: tea in Minneapolis
To: Adam Monsen <haircut at gmail.com>


> This post sums up the "SSL is not free" discussion:
> http://tinyurl.com/4gyszm

I decided not to fetch that, because I think you've shown what the
issue is.

> The post refers to this wikipedia article section stating
> that OpenSSL is not GPL-compatible:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenSSL#Licensing

There is a widespread misconception that "free" means "licensed under
the GNU GPL", but that is not so.  OpenSSL's license is a free license,
according to the definition
(http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html).

It is true that the OpenSSL license is incompatible with the GNU GPL,
but that doesn't make it unethical.  See the list of licenses in
http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html for more info.

Could you please post this where the people who had that discussion
will see it?

---------- End Forwarded message ----------

-- 
Adam Monsen
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