Re: I have terminated my assignment

[Christian Moe <mail@christianmoe.com>]

Jambunathan,

If you're leaving the Org-mode community, I'd prefer to remember you
with gratitude for leaving us the excellent ODT exporter. Please stop
diminishing your legacy with this quasi-legal wrangling.

As a user, I have greatly appreciated both your code contributions and
your patient help on the mailing list in the past. I think your recent
way of registering your displeasure with the Org maintainer is beneath
you. Also unhelpful, pointless, damaging to the community, and, in the
worst-case scenario, a damn waste of good work.

Yours,
Christian

Jambunathan K writes:

> I have terminated my copyright assignment to Emacs (or atleast notified
> the copyright desk).
>
> For the sake of record, I haven't authorized Bastien to move the
> ox-html.el and ox-odt.el out of the ./contrib/lisp directory in to the
> main ./lisp/ directory.  He didn't seek my permissions to move the file
> away from contrib/lisp in to lisp/.
>
> I cannot agree with Orgmode project's contention that I have given
> consent for above work to be included in Emacs proper.
>
> If FSF ever consults me on rights to my contributions to the above
> files, my position will ambiguously be
>
>     "Changes made by me to files ox-html.el, ox-odt.el and
>     ox-freemind.el are my own and I assert my rights over the changes.
>     Specifically, I will not acknowledge FSF as having the rights to the
>     said changes."
>
> Bastien has lost my trust very long back.  More so when he resorted to
> erasing attribution to my work.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
>
> My changes to ox-html.el and ox-odt.el is not worth the keyboard it is
> typed on.  My changes are useful.  Handing over of rights, liberal
> license grant backs from FSF and enforcement of copyright etc. are too
> big a thing to even think about for my humble contributions.  The size
> of my contributions are simply not worth so much bureaucratic trouble.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Meanwhile, interesting observers can observe how FSF responds.  Either
> they can act consistent with project policy (and reject my work) or
> appropriate my work (through changing the rules of the game and
> interpreting the terms of contract) to suit their agenda.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Advice for potential contributors: 
> ----------------------------------
>
> Think before signing a Future Assignment.  Why write a blank cheque and
> have RMS run behind you with "this is a diff to Emacs and all your code
> is mine."
>
> Assign work on a case-by-case basis.  
>
> Insist that you cannot apriori sign off rights to future works (Future
> work and circumstances cannot be predicted.  Be circumspect).  If more
> people refuse to assign future rights, FSF will be forced to review
> their stance.
>
> Ask for information on how you can withhold assignments for some
> selected work.  
>
> Ask them for cancellation form or a "withholding" form.
>
> Ask them at what point in time your work is *actually part* of Emacs.
>
> Carefully consider the arguments that FSF advances and also the
> arguments advanced by detractors.  Don't be swayed by propaganda.
>
> If you are not sure, just don't sign the copyright and wait till you
> have ascertained the nature of your work in it's near final form.
>
> Jambunathan K.