Re: Lua License

[Reuben Thomas <rrt@...>]

> So you have to be careful which libraries you use if you want to issue a BSD
> or Lua license. You cant issue a BSD license if you have used GPL code. But
> you can issue a GPL or LGPL license if you use BSD or Lua code.

You're muddying the waters. You can't relicense code that already has a
licence. On the other hand, you can license your own code however you like
(including relicensing it or offering it under different licences, like
Perl).

The simplest licence to use (and one that is increasingly preferred by
many open source developers because of its commercial acceptability (even
Microsoft accepts it)) is the new-style BSD licence, which on SourceForge
is called the MIT licence. This basically says:

1. Don't claim the code's yours (because the licence must be included with
all copies).

2. Don't sue me (all warranty is disclaimed).

Simple, straightforward, and no extra economic obligations.

It's worth noticing that even the GNU project doesn't think much (in some
quarters) of the LGPL any more, and to me it seems a failed compromise:
you should either use the GPL (if you're a purist that way), or the BSD
license (if you're a purist that way). Anything else is just asking for
people not to use your stuff because the position isn't clear, and using
the GPL is asking for commercially-minded folks not to use your stuff
because they don't understand it, or want to make proprietary changes.