[R-pkg-devel] [R] a question of etiquette

[Dirk Eddelbuettel]

On 2 June 2020 at 18:32, R. Mark Sharp wrote:
| I apologize for my obvious (in hindsight) error in bringing up the topic. I will bring up one example, because of your request. Google has listed GPL-1, 2, and 3 as one of several licenses that are restricted and cannot be used by a Google product delivered to outside customers. This include downloadable client software and software such as insdie the Google Search Appliance. This includes having scripts that load packages dynamically as with “library()” and “require()”. Please see https://opensource.google/docs/thirdparty/licenses/#restricted for their wording. 
| 
| I am not defending their position and disagree with it. However, it is their position based on what I think is a conservative or overly cautious legal interpretation. I am not a lawyer, however, so my opinions are of no import.

To a good first approximations, "nobody" on this list is a lawyer.

We are all statisticians, or analysts, or quantitatively-minded coders. Which
means it is the wrong list to have this discussion. Please take it elsewhere.

As for the argument contained in that email of yours, I think it boils down to

 - Company X quotes what you think are good reasons not use license Y.

 - We all read and interpret as we want to. But now you go on to conclude "So
   I should not use license Y."

 - And you then appear to extrapolate to "Nobody should use Y."

It simply does not work that way.  Not from 1) to 2), and (most certainly)
not from 2) to 3). Remember what you ignore from my last email: this is a
list of a GPL (>= 2) licensed project.

But that whole discussion had been had a million times already in a million
places.  This is not one of them.

A few of use came together here to offer help on packaging for R and CRAN, to
move traffic of R-devel (as packaging is generally "not R development", and
to help the CRAN maintainers by taking some load of their inboxes. I am one
of three founders of the list, and continue to help by 'filtering' first
posters. And I have *zero appetite* for this place to become your license
discussion hotspot. Please take it elsewhere, maybe even to a lawyer if you
want real advice.

Thank you, Dirk

-- 
http://dirk.eddelbuettel.com | @eddelbuettel | edd using debian.org