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Andreas Tscharner wrote: > Hello Tony, hello World, > > The CVSNT package has been uploaded by my sponsor, but it was on hold > more than a week, so I investigated a bit why... > > The OpenSSL FAQ about use with GPL software: > http://www.openssl.org/support/faq.html#LEGAL2 > > On the Debian Reject-FAQ (http://ftp-master.debian.org/REJECT-FAQ.html), > I've found a note that it's OK to link with OpenSSL if the author gives > a license exception to explicitely permit that. > > Is there any notice or something in the source, binary program or on the > webpage, so I can reference to it? > As the openssl site states, the situation is far from clear (people have said the same about the MS Runtimes in the past... it's even an issue whether a GPL Java or .NET program is legally possible..). I can exempt sserver easily enough but not the main cvsnt code - which is still probably over 80% owned by numerous other people, so in the strictest interpretation (which debian usually use.. in fact their interpreation has been known to be stricter than the FSF eg. deciding the GFDL is non-free) I can't exempt sserver properly since it links dynamically with the wider cvsnt binary. It's my intention to go to LGPL for all the libraries/protocols eventually, but have held off on the protocols as there's been a bit of input from other people and I want to be sure I'm not changing someone elses licensed code (even if a couple of lines)... this is mostly done but I need to review it again. Of course the main CVSNT binary will probably always be GPL due to its history. The only option I can see, short of dropping sserver from the debian package, is making sserver LGPL, then putting it as a separate package (possibly in non-free). Whether debian legal see this as enough though is a matter for them... there's that whole dynamic linking ickyness. You could try porting sserver to gnutls, but I've not got the time to do that just for one distribution. Tony