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Re: Updating the OpenContent license



The Open Publication License is a reasonable starting point for a
license, but the last version I saw had a serious (though not fatal)
problem: it has two optional clauses, and if either of these options
is invoked, then the license becomes non-free.  So if you write
something based on the Open Publication License, I hope you will
delete these two options.

Of course, people who want to use non-free licenses with those clauses
will still be able to do so; we cannot stop them.  But at least we can
avoid suggesting and encouraging the practice.

If you're looking for a license in that general category, then the
suggestion to use the GNU Free Documentation License makes sense,
since it is designed for the same kinds of applications.  The GFDL is
not yet finished, but the current draft shows what I am trying to do;
what remains is to get the details right.  Comments are welcome.



		GNU Free Documentation License Version 1.0
			        DRAFT


0. PREAMBLE

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10. ADDENDUM: How to use this License for your manuals

To use this License in a manual you have written, include a copy of
the License in the manual and put the following copyright and
license notices just after the title page:

      Copyright (c)  YEAR  YOUR NAME.
      Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this manual
      under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.0
      or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
      with the Invariant Sections being LIST THEIR TITLES, with the
      Front-Cover Texts being LIST, and with the Back-Cover Texts being LIST.
      A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU
      Free Documentation License".

If you have no Invariant Sections, write "with no Invariant Sections"
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If your manual contains nontrivial examples of program code, we
recommend releasing these examples in parallel under your choice of
free software license, such as the GNU General Public License,
to permit their use in free software.


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