[OSGeo-Discuss] Re: on Google Code and export restrictions

[Marco Tuckner]

Dear list members,
I would like to follow up here and ask for a official statements from OSGEO on
this topic.
I expected some more replys to this topic. When it first came up on this list
it was even ignored.

In principle, the thing is very simple:
OSGEO tells as part of their mission that they are producing FREE software with
 the note that not free as free of charge is meat. Free is used in the sens of
 the software being free of any restrictions in use and distribution.

Now you start to incorporate US export legislation politics on that.

Here my questions:
1) Why do you intend to follow the US governmental export rules and
restrictions?
2) How to you want to track any misuse (e.g. mirroring of OSGEO download
servers)?
3) If you are really serious with that, how to you intend to maintain the
attractiveness of OSGEO to people from outside US?
    => Why should someone from Europe, Brazil, China, Sudan, etc. contribute
    to any OSGEO project if he/she cannot control/guarantee the freedom of that
     code?

For instance I percived gvSIG to be an Spanish/European product.
Europeans maintain good relations with countries where US-americans do not go.
If, for instance the Spanish government decides to help the Cuban people in a
sanitation project and use gvSIG, will they get punished using their
own software?

I am at the momemnt in the decicion taking phase whether or not to use QGIS,
GRASS, gvSIG for projects in my company.
If I cannot send these programs out to my clients anywhere in the world then
they are just useless for that purpose.

So taking an official statement is really important. Please think twice here
before opting for the US understanding of freedome and security
(Saying that some days after the US announced they gonna implement
even more strict visa rules on European flight passengers.)

Kind regards,
Marco Tuckner