motif.html (6277B)
1 <!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" --> 2 <!-- Parent-Version: 1.96 --> 3 <!-- This page is derived from /server/standards/boilerplate.html --> 4 <!--#set var="TAGS" value="essays licensing non-cpleft" --> 5 <!--#set var="DISABLE_TOP_ADDENDUM" value="yes" --> 6 <title>The Motif License - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title> 7 <!--#include virtual="/philosophy/po/motif.translist" --> 8 <!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" --> 9 <!--#include virtual="/philosophy/ph-breadcrumb.html" --> 10 <!--GNUN: OUT-OF-DATE NOTICE--> 11 <!--#include virtual="/server/top-addendum.html" --> 12 <div class="article reduced-width"> 13 <h2>The Motif License</h2> 14 15 <address class="byline">by <a href="https://www.stallman.org/">Richard 16 Stallman</a></address> 17 18 <p> 19 A couple of weeks ago, the Open Group changed the license of Motif, 20 inviting free software developers to use it. However, the new Motif 21 license does not fit either the definition of free software, or the 22 looser definition of open source software.</p> 23 <p> 24 Their announcement says they have released Motif to “the open 25 source community,” but this is true only in an unnatural 26 interpretation of the words. They have not made Motif available 27 within the free software community; instead, they have invited the 28 people in the free software community to leave the community by using 29 Motif.</p> 30 <p> 31 I've written to the Open Group about this, asking them to change the 32 license. We can hope they will, but we can't assume it. In the 33 present circumstances, we have to treat Motif the same way we treated 34 it before: not available for us. Motif still cannot be part of a free 35 operating system, and combining or linking someone else's GPL-covered 36 code with Motif is still a violation of the GPL except in very special 37 circumstances.</p> 38 <p> 39 Fortunately there is a free software alternative to Motif, called 40 LessTif. Most programs that were written for Motif can use LessTif 41 with no changes. Please support the free software community by using 42 LessTif rather than Motif. Some finishing work still needs to be done 43 on LessTif; to volunteer, contact <a href="mailto:lesstif@hungry.com"> 44 <lesstif@hungry.com></a>.</p> 45 <p> 46 Here are some of the problems of the Motif license:</p> 47 <ul> 48 <li>It claims that you accept the license merely by 49 “using” Motif. Only a shrink-wrap license or 50 something similar can do that, and shrink-wrap licenses are a 51 bad thing. 52 </li> 53 54 <li>The license is restricted to use on certain operating systems, 55 those which fit a category they call “open source.” 56 Both the free software movement and the open source camp 57 consider use restrictions unacceptable. 58 </li> 59 60 <li>Their definition of the term “open source” is very 61 different from the one used by the open source camp, thus 62 causing confusion. 63 </li> 64 </ul> 65 <p> 66 In the free software movement, we disagree with the philosophy and 67 values of open source. (For more explanation, see 68 <a href="/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html">open-source-misses-the-point.html</a>.) 69 But even though we do not support open source or advocate what it 70 stands for, we think people should not misrepresent what it stands 71 for. The facts of the situation are complex enough; confusing the 72 issue is not welcome.</p> 73 74 <h3 id="LaterNote" class="footnote">Later Note</h3> 75 76 <p> 77 <em>In 2012, <a href="https://motif.ics.com/"> 78 Motif</a> was released under the GNU Lesser General Public 79 License, version 2.1.</em></p> 80 </div> 81 82 </div><!-- for id="content", starts in the include above --> 83 <!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" --> 84 <div id="footer" role="contentinfo"> 85 <div class="unprintable"> 86 87 <p>Please send general FSF & GNU inquiries to <a 88 href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org"><gnu@gnu.org></a>. There are also <a 89 href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a> the FSF. Broken links and other 90 corrections or suggestions can be sent to <a 91 href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org"><webmasters@gnu.org></a>.</p> 92 93 <p><!-- TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph, 94 replace it with the translation of these two: 95 96 We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality 97 translations. However, we are not exempt from imperfection. 98 Please send your comments and general suggestions in this regard 99 to <a href="mailto:web-translators@gnu.org"> 100 <web-translators@gnu.org></a>.</p> 101 102 <p>For information on coordinating and contributing translations of 103 our web pages, see <a 104 href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations 105 README</a>. --> 106 Please see the <a 107 href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations README</a> for 108 information on coordinating and contributing translations of this article.</p> 109 </div> 110 111 <!-- Regarding copyright, in general, standalone pages (as opposed to 112 files generated as part of manuals) on the GNU web server should 113 be under CC BY-ND 4.0. Please do NOT change or remove this 114 without talking with the webmasters or licensing team first. 115 Please make sure the copyright date is consistent with the 116 document. 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