[linux-audio-user] Linux Sampler

[Lars Luthman]

On Wed, 2005-12-07 at 14:04 -0800, Mark Knecht wrote:
> LinuxSampler is a good program but has recently considered straying
> from the Open Source model. Please read the License Agreement included in
> the CVS version for more info. For these reasons I've ceased using it. My
> comments are probably a bit dated these days as I've not tried or even
> paid attention to the program in a few months.

Their CVS server isn't responding, so I can't see the whole License
Agreement. But I see this on the web page:

  LinuxSampler is licensed under the GNU GPL license with the exception 
  that COMMERCIAL USE of the souce code, libraries and applications is
  NOT ALLOWED without prior written permission by the LinuxSampler 
  authors. If you have questions on the subject please contact us.

This is pretty nasty - if I interpret it correctly, it means that
LinuxSampler is no longer free software (at least not as defined by the
FSF, http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html ) and not even freeware,
since a producer making commercial music would have to pay to use it.

The LinuxSampler hackers are of course free to license their code any
way they want, but I wish people who add this kind of exceptions to the
GPL would call it something else instead of "GNU GPL with exception
foo". That will just confuse people when the license is uncompatible
with the GPL.

-- 
Lars Luthman
PGP key:     http://www.d.kth.se/~d00-llu/pgp_key.php
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