Re: [DEPLOY] Motion to abandon Sender ID
2004-09-02 06:04:34
I concur.
It appears to me that the only thing that could save Sender-ID right now
is if Microsoft immediately announces that they are dropping the
licensing requirements and will donate their patent directly to the IETF
or the FSF or some such. Even a simple promise from them that they
will revise their license isn't going to work; they've known for too
long now about the problems with it and we have hearsay that MS Legal
would rather let it die than back down on the provisions that make it
hostile toward open source.
The notion that this WG can decide that Microsoft's pending patents will
be invalidated by prior art and obviousness and therefore push the
standard forward is mistaken. Nobody is going to simply ignore MS's
claims and their license on the basis of the opinion of the IETF.
I therefore recommend that the chairs elect to move ClassicSPF forward
as an experimental standard and let Sender-ID die. I would hope that
if this is the case that Microsoft accepts the decision and backs the
standard without attempting to assert any further IP rights over it or
"embracing and extending" it. Doing so would be graceful on their part
and would go a long way in alleviating the deep misgivings that many
techies and developers have about Microsoft.
Kevin Peuhkurinen
|
|