License to Use JSLint for Evil

#1

Post by erenon » Thu, Apr 14, 2022, 1:58 PM UTC

License to Use JSLint for Evil
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Re: License to Use JSLint for Evil

#2

Post by ascagnel_ » Thu, Apr 14, 2022, 4:42 PM UTC

Don't put clauses that rely on subjective concepts (like "good" and "evil") in your software licenses, because they can render the license impossible to enforce.

Re: License to Use JSLint for Evil

#3

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Apr 14, 2022, 4:48 PM UTC

ascagnel_ wrote: post #2

Don't put clauses that rely on subjective concepts (like "good" and "evil") in your software licenses, because they can render the license impossible to enforce.

[deleted]

Re: License to Use JSLint for Evil

#4

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Apr 14, 2022, 5:10 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: License to Use JSLint for Evil

#5

Post by amp108 » Thu, Apr 14, 2022, 5:11 PM UTC

ascagnel_ wrote: post #2

Don't put clauses that rely on subjective concepts (like "good" and "evil") in your software licenses, because they can render the license impossible to enforce.

Pretty sure most licenses have a clause stating that, if one clause is deemed invalid, that fact doesn't render the entire thing null and void. Check with your lawyer when in doubt.

Re: License to Use JSLint for Evil

#6

Post by tbranyen » Thu, Apr 14, 2022, 5:12 PM UTC

ascagnel_ wrote: post #2

Don't put clauses that rely on subjective concepts (like "good" and "evil") in your software licenses, because they can render the license impossible to enforce.

Do you think Douglass Crockford didn't know that? He was being cheeky and doesn't care. This was also a huge pain point for JSHint and a lot of work went into undoing that by finding a single commit that didn't have the clause iirc.

Re: License to Use JSLint for Evil

#7

Post by msdrigg » Thu, Apr 14, 2022, 5:22 PM UTC

tbranyen wrote: post #6

ascagnel_ wrote: post #2

Don't put clauses that rely on subjective concepts (like "good" and "evil") in your software licenses, because they can render the license impossible to enforce.

Do you think Douglass Crockford didn't know that? He was being cheeky and doesn't care. This was also a huge pain point for JSHint and a lot of work went into undoing that by finding a single commit that didn't have the clause iirc.

I looked it up and found this interesting read: https://jshint.com/relicensing-2020/

Re: License to Use JSLint for Evil

#8

Post by TheDong » Thu, Apr 14, 2022, 5:40 PM UTC

amp108 wrote: post #5

ascagnel_ wrote: post #2

Don't put clauses that rely on subjective concepts (like "good" and "evil") in your software licenses, because they can render the license impossible to enforce.

Pretty sure most licenses have a clause stating that, if one clause is deemed invalid, that fact doesn't render the entire thing null and void. Check with your lawyer when in doubt.

If you're curious about the specific license being referenced, it didn't have any clause like that:

https://github.com/kaizhu256/jslint/blob/e188c37059ec66aedf9...

Re: License to Use JSLint for Evil

#9

Post by doliveira » Thu, Apr 14, 2022, 5:46 PM UTC

ascagnel_ wrote: post #2

Don't put clauses that rely on subjective concepts (like "good" and "evil") in your software licenses, because they can render the license impossible to enforce.

Pretty sure it is human judges that enforce the licenses, not computers.

Re: License to Use JSLint for Evil

#10

Post by altgoogler » Thu, Apr 14, 2022, 5:55 PM UTC

Here's the source talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C-JoyNuQJs#t=2480s