Subject: bug#19479: Disclaimer is now on file at FSF

From: Glenn Morris <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2015 16:09:57 -0500

Kelly Dean wrote:

>> So, I don't want to get into this discussion,
>
> And yet you chose to dig it back up, even after everybody else was
> satisfied that it was resolved more than a month ago.

I've been largely on a break from Emacs. I always thought there was
something strange here, and I just happened to get motivated enough now
to ask assign@gnu for clarification when I saw patches were still arriving.

> The copyright clerk's exact words on January 20th were, ‟We've
> accepted the public domain disclaimer and added you to our records",
> not ‟we've accepted part of the disclaimer, but rejected another
> part".

I specifically mentioned you by name in the question I asked assign@gnu,
and the reply I got (one day ago) was, in totality:

   Disclaimers are not valid for future contributions. Thanks for checking in.

Like I said, you can take it up with them if you disagree.
I'be glad to be corrected, but it all seems pretty clear to me.

I am not trying to be the bad guy and I am not out to get you.
I applied several patches from you and would have been happy to apply more.
I am just trying to ensure Emacs follows the FSF's procedures,
which seem pretty clear to me.

Vibhav Pant wrote:

> Well, what about
> http://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/gnulib.git/plain/doc/Copyright/request-assign.future?
> This is the form to request documents for assigning past and future
> works, which according to you isn't possible.

That's not what I said.
I said: I am told *disclaimers* cannot apply to future changes.

You will note that there are separate documents for *assigning* past
changes (request-assign.changes), and past-and-future changes
(request-assign.future). But for *disclaimers* there is only
request-disclaim.changes. There is no request-disclaim.future.
If you read

http://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/gnulib.git/tree/doc/Copyright/request-disclaim.changes

it quite clearly states that it only applies to past, finished changes.

I am not a lawyer (AFAIK, neither is anyone else on this list) and
have no interest in discussing why these things are different.
They just are.

I said the first time we went through this that it was my
understanding that disclaimers worked this way. I said it again here:
https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2015-01/msg00198.html

I have now had this confirmed by assign@gnu.

If you (the generic you) want to contribute to Emacs, there is a
well-defined, simple procedure that hundreds of people have followed
with no problem.

If you don't want to follow the procedure, then fine, that's your
prerogative. Then you can't contribute.

But please don't start arguing with us about what the procedure is, or
should be, or what you think a judge might say, or why you need to be an
exception. We don't set the rules here at Emacs, and it just isn't a
productive use of anyone's time.