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

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

#471

Post by echoangle »

Macha wrote: post #458
tialaramex wrote: post #449

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not the paper, the stuff on the paper scales the same. Want a large poster and then also handbills to give out? They're identical. Got 15 full size sheets of colour information but now want to turn it into a pocket handout ? No problem, it's the same thing but smaller. This feels obvious - of course it works like that, until your paper sizes aren't using this ratio (which the US ones don't) and then the frustration i…

Isn't the important part here just using a consistent aspect ratio? Like the fact that the aspect ratio chosen allows manufacturers to just use one base sheet and then subdivide it into smaller page sizes is convenient for manufacturers, but it's not a necessary property for scaling the contents of the page.

Having the halving property for each step means you can easily create booklets by getting paper one size larger and pinning it together in the middle. That’s pretty useful.

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

#472

Post by pests »

rswail wrote: post #202
therealpygon wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Are US letter sizes what people use instead of A4 in a workplace for documents and such (seems confusing if so) Yes, it is just our standard like A4 is yours. When you pull a paper out of the pack it is A4 when we pull it out it is ANSI A, commonly known a US Letter size. Instead of 8.27”x11.69”, we use 8.5”x11”. We also commonly use US Legal size, which is 8.5”x14”. Slightly longer and can fit in the same envelope…

Except pretty much all printer drivers these days can down convert from letter to A4. Margins on left/right might be skinnier, but length wise US letter fits.

Since they are talking about physical paper size, I assume they meant that an A4 printer that physically only takes A4 sized paper would not be able to print on letter paper stock, as its physically too big to fit. I can print any size onto a business card too with down converting and messing with margins.

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

#473

Post by Spooky23 »

coldpie wrote: post #111
andyferris wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Other countries switched. Short term pain for long term gain.

The trouble is there is just very little gain. It really just doesn't matter. All the systems are fine, they all work. If you come live here, you'll adjust after 2 years. If I moved to Europe, I would adjust in 2 years. Once in a blue moon you have to bother with converting units but c'est la vie . There's bigger things to worry about.

If you’re not the biggest, it matters alot.

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

#474

Post by richardfontana »

Alex-Programs wrote: post #248
01HNNWZ0MV43FF wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not even a whiteboard marker? I'm in the US so I use permanent marker to write my lawyers phone number on my arm before protests

As a Brit, the concept of "My lawyer" is slightly unfamiliar. The average Brit doesn't "have a lawyer"; they would only find a lawyer if they had a specific need, eg being accused of a crime or wanting to write a contract etc. And yet as far as I can tell, most middle class Americans seem to refer to "their lawyer". Do you pay a monthly fee? Are they a criminal defence lawyer, or something broader? How often do you t…

The average American does not have a "my lawyer" either. Not sure where you're getting "most middle class Americans" from unless you're extrapolating from pop culture. I think it's common in movies and TV dramas for characters to refer to "my lawyer" in situations in which there is contact with law enforcement.

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

#475

Post by richardfontana »

seabass-labrax wrote: post #397
Alex-Programs wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a Brit, the concept of "My lawyer" is slightly unfamiliar. The average Brit doesn't "have a lawyer"; they would only find a lawyer if they had a specific need, eg being accused of a crime or wanting to write a contract etc. And yet as far as I can tell, most middle class Americans seem to refer to "their lawyer". Do you pay a monthly fee? Are they a criminal defence lawyer, or something broader? How often do you t…

Not an American but have been involved in lots of US legal things for a charity. Generally "their lawyer" refers to a lawyer (solicitor in British usage) who is 'on retainer', which means that the client either pays a monthly fee to secure the lawyer's availability, or has a deposit with the lawyer which will be drawn from if legal assistance is needed. Funnily enough, Americans do not use the term solicitor; that's…

> Funnily enough, Americans do not use the term solicitor; that's reserved for lawyers working for the government!

It is certainly a rare term in American English. I associate it with the probably now-archaic "NO SOLICITORS" signs, which used to be commonly used in an effort to ward off door-to-door salesmen and such. The specialized usage you are referring to is the use in titles of certain important government lawyers (I'm only aware of this in the federal government). The most famous is the Solicitor General, which is an appointed official in the Department of Justice whose job is mainly to argue on behalf of the government before the US Supreme Court.

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

#476

Post by ack_complete »

ndiddy wrote: post #321
bluGill wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of the time the GPL request is a waste of time with no purpose other than annoy a company. You can download linux source code from many places, why do you want to get it from us? There is a slight possibility we have a driver that you could get access to, but without the hardware it won't do you any good. Once in a while we have hacked the source to fix a bug, but if it isn't upstream it is because the fix would…

Again I see no purpose in doing things this way besides trying to minimize the amount of people who look at your GPL code for some reason. Isn't it more annoying for the company to make someone in customer support read paper letters, burn the GPL package onto a CD-R, and mail it than it is to simply host the GPL package for each product on a support site or Github or something and include a link in the product docume…

There's definitely a purpose, it's to obfuscate usage of GPL software and dodgy linkage. There's no other reason for situations like hosting a binary download as a plain download on a website while getting the source requires mailing a check or money order to a UK address.

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

#477

Post by pabs3 »

giancarlostoro wrote: post #450
aftbit wrote: post #439

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It also does not help you to update the address later.

It does if it leads to a web page with an address. What happens when all project maintainers die and the source code disappears?

Hopefully it will never disappear, since Software Heritage and ArchiveTeam will have saved it.

https://www.softwareheritage.org/ https://wiki.archiveteam.org/index.php/Codearchiver

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

#478

Post by pabs3 »

terinjokes wrote: post #306
ndiddy wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some companies still do this mainly to make the GPL request process more annoying so fewer people do it. If you have to mail a letter with a check to cover shipping/handling and wait for the company to send you a CD-R with the code on it, fewer people will look at the code compared to if the company just put it on Github or something.

If the goal is to be annoying, sure make sure folks can jump through hoops. I just don't think in 2025 a company legitimately intending to satisfy the GPL requirements needs anything to do with physical mail, since they'll provide it online. I stopped putting in requests for source code offers because I've had a 0% success rate.

Please let the Software Freedom Conservancy know about any companies that are still in violation of the GPL by not satisfying requests for source code.

https://sfconservancy.org/copyleft-compliance/help.html

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

#479

Post by pabs3 »

bluGill wrote: post #390
regentbowerbird wrote: post #299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You only have to serve those requests if you distribute your changes yourself. So presumably as a hardware company you'd be offering your hardware with your custom linux installed, and then people wanting to audit or hack the product they bought would request the code from you.

This is GPL2 - there is no requirement that you be able to install/use/hack the software, only that you get the same source.

That is incorrect, the GPLv2 requires that you be able to modify the code, build it, reinstall the binary and run the modified binary.

https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2021/mar/25/install-gplv2/ https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2021/jul/23/tivoization-and-t... https://events19.linuxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017...

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

#480

Post by qingcharles »

palata wrote: post #117
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).

Agreed. I am a millennial, so most likely older than the author. Not having envelopes at the ready is one thing, but ordering stamps... on eBay??? And then wasting a few envelopes because writing down the address is unusual? That kind of blew my mind. I am a software engineer, and I always have a paper notebook and a pen next to my keyboard to write down stuff. I guess this all tells me I'm getting old :-).

I actually buy all my stamps on eBay. You can buy legit Forever USA stamps at below market rates.
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