<div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Mar 23, 2010 at 7:55 AM, Andrew Flegg <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:andrew@bleb.org">andrew@bleb.org</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div class="im">> requirement IF and ONLY IF you choose to provide the sources through a<br>
> written offer (instead of accompanying the binaries through neighbouring<br>
> links, which is actually what <a href="http://maemo.org" target="_blank">maemo.org</a> does).<br>
<br>
</div>However, I think that link is the "written offer"; let's consider 3a again:<br>
<br>
> ACCOMPANY it with the complete corresponding machine-readable source<br>
<div class="im">> code, which must be distributed under the terms of Sections 1 and 2<br>
> above on a medium customarily used for software interchange; or,<br>
<br>
</div>I've added the emphasis. The source code does *not* accompany every<br>
download from <a href="http://maemo.org" target="_blank">maemo.org</a> (consider the HAM case as it perfectly<br>
demonstrates it).<br>
<br>
If the source code doesn't accompany every download, then 3a doesn't<br>
apply so one of 3b or 3c must.<br></blockquote><div><br>Accompanying source can get to be a tricky term and the <a href="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html">GPL FAQ</a> does not quite interpret it the way you did (it goes as far as to say even different sites and distributions mechanisms can be acceptable). Considering HAM is just a front-end, I would say it does not really matter in this question (the system is still fundamentally apt based and youre perfectly capable to apt-get source). Here are a few related snippets from the FAQ:<br>
<br><br><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><font size="2"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(53, 56, 42); font-family: 'Sans Serif'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: -webkit-sans-serif; line-height: 22px;"><dt style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-weight: bold;">
<b><a name="DistributeWithSourceOnInternet">I want to distribute binaries via physical media without accompanying sources. Can I provide source code by FTP?</a></b></dt><dd style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 1.3em;">
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 1.3em;">Version 3 of the GPL allows this; see option 6(b) for the full details. Under version 2, you're certainly free to offer source via FTP, and most users will get it from there. However, if any of them would rather get the source on physical media by mail, you are required to provide that.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 1.3em;">If you distribute binaries via FTP,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="#AnonFTPAndSendSources">you should distribute source via FTP.</a></p>
</dd><dt style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-weight: bold;"><b><a name="SourceAndBinaryOnDifferentSites">Can I put the binaries on my Internet server and put the source on a different Internet site?</a></b></dt><dd style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 1.3em;">
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 1.3em;">Yes. Section 6(d) allows this. However, you must provide clear instructions people can follow to obtain the source, and you must take care to make sure that the source remains available for as long as you distribute the object code.</p>
</dd></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(53, 56, 42); font-family: 'Sans Serif'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: -webkit-sans-serif; line-height: 22px;"><dt style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-weight: bold;">
<b><a name="SourceInCVS">Am I complying with GPLv3 if I offer binaries on an FTP server and sources by way of a link to a source code repository in a version control system, like CVS or Subversion?</a></b></dt><dd style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 1.3em;">
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 1.3em;">This is acceptable as long as the source checkout process does not become burdensome or otherwise restrictive. Anybody who can download your object code should also be able to check out source from your version control system, using a publicly available free software client. Users should be provided with clear and convenient instructions for how to get the source for the exact object code they downloaded—they may not necessarily want the latest development code, after all.</p>
</dd></span></span></font><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><br> <br></div></div>