[Gllug] Linuxemporium - Pink Tie

[Jason Clifford]

On Thu, 21 Nov 2002, Tethys wrote:

> Like Red Hat, you mean? They have repeatedly stated that their distribution
> is, and will remain, free, and that all code they write will be under an
> open source license. Yes, they're claiming copyright on some of the images,
> and on the use of the name "Red Hat", but they've still a far greater public
> committment than most others.
> 
> Of course, a declaration made in public has no legal validity, and RH
> could quite easily change their mind, and accept the PR disaster that
> would accompany such a U-turn. But then again, there's nothing stopping
> Debian from doing the same thing either. Even the Social Contract isn't
> legally binding, and they could chose to break it at any time.

And loose almost all of the developers and package maintainers without 
whom there is no Debian distribution.

Red Hat do indeed hold that all software released as part of "Red Hat 
Linux" is under an open source license however there are other parts of 
their business where they have significantly relaxed that policy.

Personally I think that the shift in senior management focus at Red Hat is 
indicative of a move towards a less Free Red Hat over the coming couple of 
years. That is a natural result of their being a listed company now - 
theyy are obliged in law to maximise share holder value.

Jason Clifford
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