Grass 5.0b License

[Bernhard Reiter]

Hello, I just read the copyright.txt file coming with the
latest (March 30th) grass5.0beta source code.

Please make GRASS copyrighted Free Software!
	http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/categories.html
	http://www.debian.org/intro/free

This would be the best solution for the GRASS community.

| GRASS is freely available for use and users may make their
| own additions and modifications.  
This does not include the right to distribute it and the modifications.
(You might want to require that modified versions are clearly marked.)
You should require that modifications to distributed versions need
to be made available in source code form.

For complying with Free Software the right to sell the software ist also 
needed, of course it should be mandatory to inform "customers"
about the license and their rights.

| In fact, the GRASS
| Development Team encourages users to develop new modules
| and programs for use with GRASS.  By doing so, the user
| community grows and prospers.
Using a Free Software license will encourage the largest number
of people. Linus Thorvald, e.g. said that the release of his
well known Kernel as Free Software (basically under the GNU GPL)
was the major factor in its constant popularity and attractions to
programmers.


| However, what we will not allow is for commercial firms
| to acquire GRASS source codes and use them in their own
| commercial packages in any way shape or form.  That is
| not right.  Especially when no credit is given to the
| authors to the code(s).  Commercial firms wishing to
| cooperate in development, or use GRASS code can contact us.
You should be aware of the fact, that there is commercial Free Software
(see the Link to the Categories of Free Software above.)

It should be forbidden to make GRASS binaries or sources 
proprietory, but it should not be prohibied to use them.
Otherwise Free Software distributors like RedHat or Walnut Creek,
would not be able to distribute or enhance GRASS.
(RedHat pays a lot of very good programmers to work on Free Software,
which is good for the user community.)

| So, the GRASS Copyright protects the authors of the
| software, and still allows for development.

The authors will greatly benefit from a big number of contributions and
enchanced GRASS programs. A Free Software license greatly boosts
the chance for that happening!

	Bernhard Reiter
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