[Qgis-psc] iOS links [was PSC Meeting March]

[Marco Bernasocchi]

Hi Tim,

Thanks so much for your write up I allowed myself to change the subject
. some comments inline.

On 17.03.20 11:47, Tim Sutton wrote:
> Reposting as list message was rejected due to size:
>
> Hi
>
> Thank you so much for your email @Vincent. Personally I have read your
> email below and numerous articles online about it and there is still,
> in my mind, room for posting a GPL app on the apple store - there just
> needs to be a clear path to fetch the binaries so that you can install
> it on your other systems (i.e. the contention mainly relates to the
> third freedom). This could be done in the application itself with a
> link somewhere to download the package files and notes on how to
> install it (which to be fair may be a convoluted process on some
> operating systems).
maybe that would be an interesting possibility, it need to be
investigated as it could break the apple TOS about distribution.
>
> However, in acknowledgement that there is probably never going to be
> general agreement on this, and the only conclusive way to deal with it
> is to modify our license to add an exemption for distribution via app
> stores (I would propose a general exemption rather then mentioning any
> specific one), I have contacted Saber off-list and asked him to remove
> the link to INPUT on our web site. I did this along with a deep sense
> of shame that we cannot acknowledge the hard work of long term
> contributors to QGIS - in particular Martin has been a contributor to
> QGIS since the very early days of the project.

Yes, it is a pain but it is a complex situation. I wish nothing more
than seeing QField iOS download button on the QGIS download page. As
Saber mentions in a previous mail, there are precedents that show GPL
apps on the AppStore (like Subsurface divelog) unfortunately there are
also precedents that show that GPL without an amendment can lead to an
app (see VLC [0], GNU go[1]) being removed form the app store. And also
the FSF, even-though long ago, took a clear stance against GPLv2 on the
AppStore [1].

>
> https://github.com/qgis/QGIS-Website/pull/735 
>
> The assessment of the situation below may be right,

we also had the same feedback from a different lawyer and it is why
we've never put iOS as highest priority with QField, there used to be a
way that seemed doable before by using the enterprise developer program
but it looks like Apple made that tighter and added more requirements
that can only be achieved by a company distributing to employees and not
an organization distributing to members.

We had envisioned creating a QField organization to which anyone could
become member and receive QField by accepting the developers
(OPENGIS.ch) certificate. As Saber says, looks like nowadays appstore is
basically the only way to deploy apps that is feasible. We are still
looking into this to see if we missed something.

> but IMHO the situation itself is wrong - we should not be held hostage
> by our own license. Our license choice was intended to ensure that
> QGIS can be a GIS that everyone can use, and we should be actively
> taking it to every platform that is in popular use.
oh yes, you're so right. I know apple is not that beloved in the FOSS
world, but I want to respect the user wish to use it and enable them
with our great tools.
> Thus I would like to raise the proposal that we assemble a list of
> everyone who has made a contribution to the QGIS code base, and at
> very least, run a poll to see how many would be amenable to a
> modification of the license.

I think it is a good point, and for sure the (probably only) clean way
to solve this. In any case if we go that way, VLC has already gone there
so we can have a look at how they did it. [3][4]

> From the poll results we will be able to see 1) are 100% of the
> authors contactable and 2) what % of the codebase currently under GPL
> could not be relicensed. 
>
> Regards
>
> Tim

Ciao

Marco


[0] https://www.zdnet.com/article/no-gpl-apps-for-apples-app-store/
[1] https://www.fsf.org/news/2010-05-app-store-compliance
[2]
https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/apple-app-store-anniversary-marks-ten-years-of-proprietary-appsploitation
[3] https://www.videolan.org/press/lgpl-modules.html
[4] http://www.jbkempf.com/blog/post/2012/I-did-it


-- 
Marco Bernasocchi

QGIS.org Co-chair
http://berna.io