Re: GFDL

[Alan L Tyree <alantyree@gmail.com>]

On 10/03/13 02:11, Carsten Dominik wrote:
>
> On 9.3.2013, at 16:02, Achim Gratz <Stromeko@nexgo.de> wrote:
>
>> Carsten Dominik writes:
>>> I am wondering, are we required to include the full text of the GFDL
>>> in the manual?  I find it a big waste of space and feed that a link
>>> should do.  But I have not been able to find the rules that say what
>>> needs to be included in a document distributed under GFDL?
>>
>> http://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl-howto
>> http://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl-1.3.html
>>
>> "To use this License in a document you have written, include a copy of
>> the License in the document and put the following copyright and license
>> notices just after the title page:[…]"
>>
>> I read this: If there's just one document, it must contain the license
>> in full, if there are several that reference each other, it is enough to
>> include it in the top-level document.
>
> Yes it sounds like it.  Thank you for the link.
>
> I still think it is crazy to add these 8 pages to each time someone prints it....
>
> Regards
>
> - Carsten
>
I also think it is crazy, and I don't think it is necessary. Although 
the FSF might prefer you to include the whole licence, in my opinion 
there is no need to do so. The manual is released under the GFDL and so 
is subject to the terms of the license.

In my view, this statement from Creative Commons is accurate:

"How can I license my work?

There is no registration to use the Creative Commons licenses.

Licensing a work is as simple as selecting which of the six licenses 
best meets your goals, and then marking your work in some way so that 
others know that you have chosen to release the work under the terms of 
that license."

The important part here is that "others know", that is, it must be very 
clear that the manual is released subject to the GFDL. As a courtesy, a 
link to the GFDL or including a copy as part of the package might be nice.

Alan



-- 
Alan L Tyree                    http://www2.austlii.edu.au/~alan
Tel:  04 2748 6206		sip:172385@iptel.org