Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I wrote to the address in the GPLv2 license notice (2022)

code.mendhak.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

371–380 of 585 posts

Re: I wrote to the address in the GPLv2 license notice (2022)

#371

Post by SpaceNoodled »

massysett wrote: post #96
xaitv wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Think the last time I used a pen is about 8-9 years ago when I had to sign something to buy my home. Notes and stuff I just write on my phone or computer and I don't see what else I'd use a pen for.

Wow, I use a pen nearly every day. Sometimes I deliberately get a pen or pencil and paper rather than a phone. I was doing some home improvements in my attic, and I would often need to jot down a measurement so I could cut wood etc. I did this once or twice on my phone and realized it's much easier to do this with a pencil and small notepad. In what is perhaps the most ironic blend of high and low tech, I wrote my ow…

I prefer an app for grocery lists since it can be managed with a single hand while shopping - no need to stop in the middle of an aisle to pull out a pencil and cross something off, nor to print anything out before heading to the store, for that matter. Plus, I won't have to re-sync the list with what remain on the physical list at the end of the trip.

Re: I wrote to the address in the GPLv2 license notice (2022)

#372

Post by immibis »

Suppafly wrote: post #271
BalinKing wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never realized that “LETTER” in that error referred to paper size—no printer I’ve had has actually given that error, so I only ever heard about it through oblique references to Office Space and such. It makes so much more sense now…

The 'PC' part is paper cassette, it's the printer literally telling you to load letter sized paper into the paper cassette, but everyone acts like it's some mysterious message that's impossible to figure out.

Sounds impossible if you didn't read the manual. Who reads manuals?

Re: I wrote to the address in the GPLv2 license notice (2022)

#373

Post by immibis »

SpaceNoodled wrote: post #330
NoboruWataya wrote: post #3

Not sure if it's being exaggerated for comedic purposes but it is interesting to me how alien the act of sending a letter by post is to the author. Granted I don't send them very often but I wouldn't think much of it if I had to. But I guess younger people and particularly those in tech may genuinely never need a reason to send a letter (or, it seems, write an address by hand).

I think the strangest part is that it had been years since they had used a pen.

Keeping a pad of paper at your computer is one of those underrated things. You'd think the computer can record information just like the paper, and it can, but psychology is weird.

Re: I wrote to the address in the GPLv2 license notice (2022)

#374

Post by SpaceNoodled »

dharmab wrote: post #164
mytailorisrich wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He's also obviously not used to write/type letters... The whole thing is quite awful. Schools used to teach this a minimum but they no longer do. It was also standard to learn that for job hunting but, again, I don't think many people apply for jobs by post nowadays although it can still be useful to know how to write a formal cover letter.

These days most candidates use AI generated cover letters.

Good thing I got ahead of the curve by never reading them

Re: I wrote to the address in the GPLv2 license notice (2022)

#375

Post by taftster »

self_awareness wrote: post #333
MadnessASAP wrote: post #293

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How wonderful! Since the game of the day seems to be the technicalities of the minutiae, could you explain the decision to send the GPLv3 vs GPLv2? Is this a request that happens often?

The sender didn't specify the version in his request, so I find it natural that they've sent him the latest version.

The author mentioned this exact problem. Quoting:

> There was a problem that I noticed right away, though: this text was from the GPL v3, not the GPL v2. In my original request I had never mentioned the GPL version I was asking about.

>The original license notice makes no mention of GPL version either. Should the fact that the license notice contained an address have been enough metadata or a clue, that I was actually requesting the GPL v2 license? Or should I have mentioned that I was seeking the GPLv2 license?

This is seemingly a problem with the GPL text itself, in that it doesn't mention which license version to request when you mail the FSF.

Re: I wrote to the address in the GPLv2 license notice (2022)

#376

Post by SpaceNoodled »

immibis wrote: post #373
SpaceNoodled wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the strangest part is that it had been years since they had used a pen.

Keeping a pad of paper at your computer is one of those underrated things. You'd think the computer can record information just like the paper, and it can, but psychology is weird.

Agreed. Grabbing a pen and a post-it is faster for me than opening a text document, and a pad of paper allows me to format and diagram things freely.

The post-its can be sorted, stacked, moved, stuck to pertinent notebook pages, altered, and ultimately recycled when they are no longer relevant. It's much freer than a document on a phone or computer, where it can still be a pain to move information from one domain to another.

Re: I wrote to the address in the GPLv2 license notice (2022)

#377

Post by SpaceNoodled »

grishka wrote: post #363
SpaceNoodled wrote: post #355

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When and where were you required to write the ZIP so strangely? I've never heard of such a bizarre requirement.

Russia. It's still a thing most likely. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Russian_postal_codes...

Fascinating, thanks!

Re: I wrote to the address in the GPLv2 license notice (2022)

#378

Post by HeyLaughingBoy »

stevetron wrote: post #253
HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Food that's not prepackaged. e.g., I recently threw out a container of eggs that had been in my freezer for about two years because my hens were laying so much faster than we could consume, that we had dozens of extras. I also label things like the date I install a new HVAC filter, or how much to cut off on a piece of lumber, etc.

I was unaware that it was safe to freeze eggs.

Why would you think it wasn't?

Re: I wrote to the address in the GPLv2 license notice (2022)

#379

Post by dheera »

krisoft wrote: post #337
dheera wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> is universally accessible by design I disagree. It requires taking time out of business hours, and they don't pay you your salary while you line up multiple times for 30 minutes each. I've sometimes had to line up for 2 hours total (4 times) just to mail one thing. Once to ask "how do i mail this", once to ask for a pen (couldn't cut the line because a Karen wouldn't let me), once because I filled the wrong form, e…

I mean it is the fallback method. The solution for the "I never heard of this internet thing, or something else is preventing me from finding the licence online" problem. Almost everyone will just use their search engine to find this page: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.en.html What can you do to serve the licence to those who can't or won't do that (for whatever reason)? I think it is hard to find…

I mean, part of the problem is I didn't own a pen at the time.

I have multiple computers and phones, I thought that was the interface to the post-2000 world.

I do have paint, but that's a little clumsy.

I grudgingly own a box of BIC pens now, but ... It's like requiring people to own a horse to do something these days. And in past experience during school days, those goddamn BIC pens all go bad (ink dries up or something), before I use even 5% of one of them.

I realize this all probably sounds very silly to someone born before 1980 but ... yeah it's just the reality of the world, I don't normally need pens to do anything, and am used to pens being provided in the rare occasions I need to sign a receipt or something, and usually I just end up drawing a cat on the signature line.

Re: I wrote to the address in the GPLv2 license notice (2022)

#380

Post by self_awareness »

kevincox wrote: post #361
self_awareness wrote: post #333

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The sender didn't specify the version in his request, so I find it natural that they've sent him the latest version.

How does a sender who only has a GPLv2 license notice even know that there is a v3? Should they first send a letter asking which versions are available?

If the sender requests GPLv2, he should receive GPL version 2.

If the sender requests GPL, I find it natural for him to receive version 3, because it's the latest version. At the time of receiving the license, he gains knowledge about the existence of version 3 (the header on the print says the GPL he received is version 3).

If the sender has a notice about GPLv2, it means that there's a high chance that there's also GPLv1. This should be a sufficient hint that requesting only "GPL" is not sufficient, because the sender should be aware of the risk of receiving GPLv1 if he won't mention the "v2".

Post reply on HN