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Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.misc Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!msuinfo!agate!howland.reston.ans.net!swrinde!news.dell.com!tadpole.com!uunet!zib-berlin.de!news.belwue.de!news.uni-ulm.de!rz.uni-karlsruhe.de!stepsun.uni-kl.de!sun.rhrk.uni-kl.de!weber From: weber@rhrk.uni-kl.de (Christoph Weber-Fahr [KIT]) Subject: Kermit in the FreeBSD distribution - has someone checked ? Message-ID: <1994Oct1.015207.3287@rhrk.uni-kl.de> Organization: University of Kaiserslautern, Germany Date: Sat, 1 Oct 1994 01:52:07 GMT Lines: 83 Hello, Although I'm not sure if this is really benficial, I thought I'd forward this here. The following article appeared in comp.protocols.kermit.misc in a thread that got strted by the announcement of the SimTel and Garbo moderators to remove MSDOS-Kermit from their ftp sites because of unacceptable conditions in the kermit copyright. It is not written by me but by Frank da Cruz, the C-Kermit author, so please get the attributions right.... ----------------------------------------------------------- From: fdc@fdc.cc.columbia.edu (Frank da Cruz) Newsgroups: comp.protocols.kermit.misc Subject: Re: Are Columbia U's files still avial for FTP? Date: 30 Sep 1994 13:14:42 GMT Lines: 57 Message-ID: <36h302$7qj@apakabar.cc.columbia.edu> In article <1994Sep30.114330.28907@rhrk.uni-kl.de> weber@rhrk.uni-kl.de (Christoph Weber-Fahr [KIT]) writes: > What's next ? ftp-os2 (aka Hobbes) ? You know, that's the central > OS/2 software archive, and the domain name id .cdrom.com, which is, one > should have heard, Walnut Creek Software. c-kermit for OS/2 is there, and > (although I have not checked) I assume its on their Hobbes CD either. Fine, nobody said they could not put it on Hobbes, even though they tend to be behind the Columbia version and we waste a lot of time answering questions about this. > Oh, and what's about the freebsd distribution ? It is on CDROM as well, > also from Walnut Creek. CKermit is in there. Will that be removed either ? > If it is on the Walnut Creek CDROM, it was put there without our permission. Either they did not read the copyright notice, or they deliberately violated it. If it is on ANY CDROM, it is there without our permission, as we have never yet negotiated a successful agreement with any CDROM distributor. Read on and see why (as if I have explained this seventeen times already). > I don't think your policy wrt CDROM-Makers is a well thought one. You seem > to require individual negotiations, which by itself is simply not feasible > when putting several thousands of programs on a CD. The administrative > overhead would seem inacceptable. > > May I suggest that you decide on some criteria that > > - when met automatically allow CDROM distribution > - are made that they cover at least the "classical" internet > related archive CDs ? > We have been searching for such criteria that are mutually beneficial. But there is an inherent contridiction here: there is no way the CDROM companies can afford to pay us anywhere near what we have to charge ourselves for distributed Kermit software by mail order. Why? Because our costs cover not only ftping stuff and copying it to a CDROM, but also designing, writing, maintaining, supporting, and documenting the software AND we include a printed manual. And conversely, there is no way we can keep the Kermit effort going on "a fraction of a penny per program". This discussion would not be taking place if nobody liked or used Kermit software. If you like it, if you use it, then please respect tha people who work so hard to bring it to you. These people are not the CDROM makers, they are the programmers and writers who actually produce it and the tech support people who have been answering your questions on a daily basis for over a decade. As I pointed out yesterday (there's that phrase again), CDROMs are great for distributing shareware, because then everybody wins. CDROMs are not great for distributing Kermit software, because the very dynamics of the process KILL the Kermit effort. The only way to fight back -- and survive -- is to change our terms so it is no longer free for everybody to use. Is that what you want? - Frank ------------------ end forwarded article -------------------------------- -- Christoph Weber-Fahr | E-Mail: weber@rhrk.uni-kl.de Universitaet Kaiserslautern, KIT | S-Mail: Postfach 3049 Tel. 0631/205-3391 | D-67653 Kaiserslautern -------------------------- My personal opinion only ---------------------