[sword-devel] BibleMemorizer - Sword as plugin? (Licensing)

[Jeremy Erickson]

> I don't know what you are trying to accomplish by switching to the X
> license or similar. It says that anyone can take your code and, as long
> as they don't remove/modify the license statement, they can use it as if
> it were their own. Their only responsibility to you is to supply the
> unmodified license along with the software they develop from it. There
> is no responsibility for the users to identify whether or how they
> modified your code. If they introduced problems, it could come back to
> you for support as your's possibly would be the only name on it.
>
> Specifically, someone could take your code, modify it or not, and sell it.

I am aware of the restrictions involved in each license I have looked at.  
Were you referring to the idea of switching to an MIT/X11 license from a BSD 
License?  I could add the notice:

"Except as contained in this notice, the name(s) of the above copyright 
holders shall not be used in advertising or otherwise to promote the sale, 
use or other dealings in this Software without prior written authorization."

to make it like 3-clause BSD.  (My previous 2-clause BSD had no similar 
clause).  The FSF uses MIT/X11 + above notice for ncurses, so obviously they 
consider it GPL-compatible.  I have read, though, that what it prohibits is 
already illegal in all jurisdictions the FSF is aware of, and that is why it 
doesn't conflict with the GPL.  Therefore it might be redundant.

Referring to the "sell it" proposition, I am fully aware of that.  I 
intentionally chose a non-copyleft license.  (Someone could actually sell a 
program under the GPL, but I think you were referring to the fact they could 
change the license with MIT/X11).  I don't want to restrict the use of my 
code by others.  I understand why someone would, but I don't.

I am basically after a short, well-known license with as few restrictions as 
possible, and that can be understood by non-technical users who haven't a 
clue what "source code" is.  The MIT/X11 license seems to be a perfect match.  
The zlib/libpng license addresses the problems you mentioned, but it is less 
well-known.

I might have even considered making BibleMemorizer public domain if there was 
less uncertainty about the consequences and validity of doing so.

-Jeremy Erickson