Re: I have terminated my assignment

[Carsten Dominik <carsten.dominik@gmail.com>]

Jambunathan,

I am not entering a discussion here, based on some wildly
constructed examples.  What I am doing is countering the
impression you are lately trying to make, that these files
were never intended for release and Emacs.  You are trying
to imply this by insisting that they were "in contrib".
This is a false impression for two reasons, as I have shown
in my previous mail.

The copyright quotation is not about the year, but about
the fact that it says "FSF", not "Jambunathan".  This was
never changed, also not when you changed the author name
from "Nicolas Goaziou" (because the files was apparently
created by changing a copy org-e-latex.el) to your name.

http://orgmode.org/cgit.cgi/org-mode.git/commit/EXPERIMENTAL/org-e-html.el?id=fac58412f3c23a4c3cb03e050cd7809cfc8651fe

Org-mode is not a company.  It is an open source project,
and the complete project history is open to the world.
It's most important distribution channel is as git
repository - so it is published and republished after
each push to the main repository at orgmode.org. 
Introducing cuts like a tar ball release is artificial
for this discussion.  At each state it may contain bugs
and typos, but fact that the copyright notice was never
changed shows at the very least that you did not care,
and probably it shows that you, at the time, were
proud to contribute to the Org-mode and Emacs and
perfectly aware that the copyright was transferred to
the FSF.

It is known that your intent has now changed, but the
original intent was plain to you and others and has caused
others to rely on the code, to add and invest.  This is why
I am helping to protect the code.  Not to pry it away from
you[1], but to protect users of and contributors to Org-mode.
If we cannot trust that code contributed to a project like
Org-mode can be used and built upon, then the letter and
spirit of free software is endangered.  Even if you try
to paint yourself into the victim role, you are quite the
opposite in this situation.

- Carsten

[1] What would I have to gain from that?  I would have more
    fun rewriting it than I have writing this mail, but I do
    what I consider necessary.


On 3.4.2013, at 07:52, Jambunathan K <kjambunathan@gmail.com> wrote:

> 
> Carsten
> 
>> When this code first entered the Org-mode repository, it was not in
>> contrib/.  The code entered in EXPERIMENTAL/.  Both files where marked
>> "Copyright (C) 2011-2012 FSF" and "Copyright (C) 2010-2012 FSF" from
>> the first moment they entered into the repository, in agreement with
>> Jambunathan's standing assignment with the FSF at the time.
>> 
>> http://orgmode.org/cgit.cgi/org-mode.git/commit/EXPERIMENTAL/org-e-html.el?id=93ec2c7a5034944f5f6c77be6f37c49b4a697b72
>> 
>> http://orgmode.org/cgit.cgi/org-mode.git/commit/EXPERIMENTAL/org-e-odt.el?id=c2ea76e71034a161d875647b27cfbd72264b5d64
>> 
>> The files moved to contrib/ only in April of 2012, in a period when
>> the exporter structure was fleshed out and completed.  This move was
>> clearly a staging event for a later move into core, rather than a
>> change of copyright assignment.  While unassigned files are are only
>> allowed in contrib/, the reverse is not true and never was.
> 
> What does FSF record indicate?  
> 
> Last I checked, it indicates that Emacs contains no such files and these
> files are unknown to the Emacs product.  FSF email records also say that
> I have out of my own initiative refused to assign *my* rights to them.
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> I haven't authorized Bastien to move contrib/lisp changes to lisp/.  I
> invite him to show a proof to that effect. 
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> What you indicate is daily routine.  IMNSHO, they are good to know but
> not substantial to resolve the dispute.  
> 
> It is common knowledge that unreleased source is *known* to show wrong
> Copyright years prior to release.  Corporations securely back up - as in
> put in a locker - only released tar balls.
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> What matters is the product (product here is Emacs) and a public release
> of product together with source tarball.
> 
> Org-8.0 is not released yet.  It is a work-in-progress and not known to
> public at large.  Org-8.0 is not in Emacs, it is merely a staging ground
> for Emacs and Emacs maintainers will do their own due diligence
> *independent* of the due diligence done by Org maintainer.
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Thought experiment: 
>   I steal my employer's code, slap my authorship and assign copyright to
>   FSF.  Does that mean the code is assigned to FSF? No.
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Bottomline: 
>   Intent to act is not the same as act itself.
> 
> Jambunathan K.