[R] glmmADMB and the GPL -- formerly-- How to buy R.

[dave fournier]

I promise the list that this will be my last posting
regarding this matter.

The package glmmADMB is not and never was the "property"
or a "product" of Otter Research Ltd. It was simply a probram I wrote
using ADMB-RE and gave away. I do this all the time to help various 
people. I don't monitor or try to control what they do with it.
The executable nbmm.exe was produced by using the ADMB-RE package,
but under our license executables produced using
ADMB are freely distributable. See for example the
software Coleraine or stock synthesis.

As I stated in my earlier post I was motivated to
produce software for negative binomial mixed models
by a post of Prof Ripleys, that no such good software
existed. I assumed that to mean anywhere not just as
a currently existing R package.
I originally intended this to be just a stand alone
program that anyone could use after they put the data
into the proper format. I soon realized, however that
R users had a different way of thinking about the methods
for specifying these models. Since I have extremely limited
R skills I asked Anders Nielsen and Hans Skaug if they would be interested
in producing something that could be used more easily by R users.
They were not paid for this and acted simply out of a wish to provide a 
service to the R community.
I had no idea how that would go and at that point my involvement in the
development (except for modifying the nbmm.exe to deal with difficult
data) came to an end.

Neither Anders or Hans are employees of or own any part of Otter 
Research Ltd. I am its sole employee/owner.

When the package was finished I agreed to host it on my web site.

I also put up a forum because I wanted to see how the software worked 
for people.

I appears that Hans put the GPL on the package. He can speak for
himself, but I believe he intended the GPL to apply to the R package 
which he had taken over from Anders and not the nbmm.exe Certainly he 
would have no authority to bind Otter Research Ltd in this matter.

Now as to "flames" and Lawyers.  As I said Otter Research Ltd is a 
company of one person. I have successfully sold software for 16 years 
without a lawyer, mostly to the fisheries management community.
I never felt the need for a lawyer until I gave something away for free
to the R community.

I removed the link that Prof Ripley referred to. If there is another 
offending link I will be happy to remove it as well if you tell me where 
it is. For those who want to use the software I will put it up in its
original form which means that you will need to put your data into
the format that an AD Model Builder program requires. It will still have 
the same functionality but unfortunately will be more difficult for R 
users to access.

Of course if Hans or Anders or anyone else wants to they are welcome to 
take the nbmm.exe and make it available with their own R package if they 
can satisfy whatever the requirements are -- just not on my website.

     Cheers,

      Dave



























-- 
David A. Fournier
P.O. Box 2040,
Sidney, B.C. V8l 3S3
Canada
Phone/FAX 250-655-3364
http://otter-rsch.com