[rancid] Rancid 3.0 License Change

[heasley]

Thu, Sep 26, 2013 at 03:55:09PM -0500, Jeffrey Ollie:
> I was just looking at some of the changes in Rancid 3.0 alpha and I saw
> that this clause was added to the license:
> 
> +## 6. Parties packaging or redistributing RANCID MAY NOT distribute altered
> +##    versions of the etc/rancid.types.base file nor alter how this file is
> +##    handled.  The purpose of this condition is to help keep our support
> +##    costs down.
> 
> This change makes Rancid non-Free and could be problematic for
> distributions that package Rancid.  I know that in particular it will be a
> problem for Fedora.

It is still free; you still pay nothing to us, no one is bound by this clause
from modifying it for their own use, and it does not prevent parties from
creating packages.

Furthermore, I'd consider expanding that clause to the entire contents of the
lib directory for the same goal.  The clause does not prevent anyone from
distributing a modified version of etc/rancid.types.conf and wouldnt prevent
the addition of other libraries to the lib directory; providing a path around
the clause, but still maintaining the goal.

I think the goal is clear.  I spend too much time providing support and
recognize that a few on the rancid-discuss list help significantly; the time
of neither is free.  I foresee modifications described to be a potential
rathole that I wish to avoid.

That said, I'm open to suggestions to achieve that goal in a different
manner.