[MPlayer-dev-eng] MplayerXP vs Mplayer. Hall of truth.

[Nick Kurshev]

Hello, Gabucino!

On Mon, 18 Mar 2002 20:09:07 +0100 you wrote:
[snip]
> 
> > So delaying of licence's question doesn't increase mplayer's profit at all.
[snip]
> Nick, you didn't answer my question: exactly _WHAT_ do you want
> to achieve with this licensing issue? MPlayer _will_ be GPL in a few days!
> Do you plan WorldDominationXP(tm) until then??
> 
What do I want? I want have freedom to distribute my branch under GPL except
stuff which have other licence.
I don't want to start this subtread but Arpi said:

#>you should at least ask us, at least my code is not GPL yet

and that sounded like - I violate some strange licence without author agreement
on that. Since it serious question I wanted to analyse - what I violated?
Here is my opinion:

1. Mplayer has no licence at all.
Because: mplayer is not a program but collection of sources
(even this fact is not declared. I can't find out from mplayer's licence -
what is subject of licence).
Let mplayer is collection of sources. As declared in "licence agreements"
these sources have different licences. Therefore mplayer has no united licence
which covers whole package and each source file MUST have explicitly given licence
(else it's unlicensed). In addition, given licence doesn't give list of files where
should be explicitly counted files or their groups. O'k - I tried deterime which
sources have licence and what kind of licence they have. My analysis shows me that
mplayer's package contains dominated number of sources which have no licence at all
(include core of player and its integral parts).

2. In this connexion, I don't violate any mplayer's licence.

3. I allow binary distrubution after clearing of code from non GPL'ed stuff
(except unlicensed) - and I'm right.

4. I shouldn't wait until you make mplayer GPL'ed PROGRAM.
When I first time participated with Mplayer in march-april 2001 - there was the same
situation - mplayer was unlicensed (finely basicaly GPL'ed) and Arpi promised
that his mplayer will be GPL'ed as soon as possible. It was year ago. Now I can watch
the same promises. I don't believe in the phrase: "MPlayer _will_ be GPL in a few days!"
You have own freedom do that or not do. Same as I have the same freedom. And I realized that.
(Well - there is my lack: xp has several subdirs with expicitly non-GLP'ed code and I going to
upload next release as soon as I'll remove that. And I will not wait until mplayer will be
GPL'ed or will not be GPL'ed!)

That's all!

Best regards! Nick

P.S.: Please keep it in mind: licence is not a toy and until mplayer has the same situation
it's equal to - mplayer has no licence. (You should or make it a program and cover by unified
licence (of any kind which will more like to Arpi) or put licence's strings in every source file -
where they don't present). Else it provides possibility to use mplayer's (unlicensed) sources in
any way by everyone.
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