[PD] GPL details WAS: Keyboard shortcuts for "nudge", "done editing"

[Mathieu Bouchard]

Le 2011-10-06 à 18:52:00, Hans-Christoph Steiner a écrit :

> The GPL includes the "or any later version" by default,

Actually, it seems not. You have to say « or any later version » 
explicitly.

« Each version is given a distinguishing version number.  If the Program
specifies a version number of this License which applies to it and "any
later version", you have the option of following the terms and conditions
either of that version or of any later version published by the Free
Software Foundation. »

It doesn't say what happens if you just state a version number in 
particular, but I don't know why anyone would assume that it means « or 
later » if the text of the license does not say it.

However, in the case of no version number, the GPL then continues like 
this :

« If the Program does not specify a version number of this License, you 
may choose any version ever published by the Free Software Foundation. »

which I take to mean « GPL v1 or later » (which still excludes LGPL, GFDL, 
etc.)

> but some people remove that part.

They remove it from the license notice, which is usually a template made 
by the FSF/GNU, but isn't actually part of the GPL. (It's included in the 
license file as an example inside the Appendix, after the line that says : 
« END OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS »)

> We could adopt the Debian notation for this:
> GPLv2+  standard GPL v2 or later
> GPLv2   standard GPL v2 only

Yeah, that one or anything more convenient, but I bet that the Debian 
notation is already sufficiently convenient.

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