Richard,
I would rather resist YOU here and now.
How DARE you come into this group and make this type of accusation
without the slightest concern or interest in what the group is trying to
achieve? You have made no effort to understand the situation before
launching your attack.
Microsoft has been told the license terms it must satisfy for the
Sumbitter proposal to be a part of the MARID standard and the time by which
they must provide the necessary assurances. These can only come from the
Microsoft legal department.
Please go and find yourself another platform for your political
ideology.
Phill
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-ietf-mxcomp(_at_)mail(_dot_)imc(_dot_)org
[mailto:owner-ietf-mxcomp(_at_)mail(_dot_)imc(_dot_)org]On Behalf Of Richard
Stallman
Sent: Saturday, July 24, 2004 3:43 PM
To: Michel Bouissou; IETF MARID WG
Cc: team(_at_)fsfeurope(_dot_)org
Subject: Sender-ID and free software
(Michel, I am not a member of this list, so would you please
forward my message if it does not go through?)
Microsoft's Sender-ID license is directly incompatible with free
software regardless of which free software license is used. Free
software means users are free to run it, study and modify the source,
and to redistribute it with or without changes. Free to do so means
there is no requirement to ask or tell anyone that you are doing so.
The Microsoft license for Sender-ID directly forbids release of
software with all these freedoms, so it is impossible for any program
to be free software under Microsoft's regime.
I've been expecting to see something like this ever since Gates
started talking about spam. This license is an example of Microsoft's
strategy for killing off free software as an alternative to Windows.
Microsoft first patents something, then incorporates it into a format
or protocol, then tries to make it de rigueur while excluding those it
wishes to exclude. In the absence of resistance, Microsoft has a good
chance of imposing whatever standards it likes. Let us, therefore,
resist it here and now.