Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!iuvax!cica!ctrsol!ginosko!aplcen!unmvax!deimos.cis.ksu.edu!rutgers!columbia!cs!dupuy From: dupuy@cs.columbia.edu (Alexander Dupuy) Newsgroups: gnu.misc.discuss Subject: Re: The $1,000,000 question (Media cost) Message-ID: Date: 28 Jul 89 16:39:34 GMT References: <33473@apple.Apple.COM> <247@unmvax.unm.edu> <1989Jul27.191043.11584@cs.rochester.edu> Sender: dupuy@cs.columbia.edu Reply-To: dupuy@cs.columbia.edu Organization: Columbia University Computer Science Department Lines: 18 In-reply-to: bukys@cs.rochester.edu's message of 27 Jul 89 19:10:43 GMT I don't really see a problem with exorbitant media costs. Since the copyleft allows anyone to freely redistribute source, a group of people can get a copy at the ridiculous price, and then make it available at a more reasonable one (even free, for anonymous ftp). If the ridiculous price is so ridiculous that nobody could ever afford it, I think it would be hard to describe it as a "nominal shipping charge" as used in Par. 3.a of the GPL. It wouldn't hurt to change the wording in Par. 2.d to read "You may charge a fair [reasonable?] distribution fee..." I'm more worried about the precise definition of machine-readable - microfiche or paper listings might well qualify. @alex -- -- inet: dupuy@cs.columbia.edu uucp: ...!rutgers!cs.columbia.edu!dupuy