Re: Dependence on nonfree software

[Andrea G. Monaco]

Hello everyone,


based on what we said I would add the following paragraph to the hosting
requirements of NonGNU Savannah
(http://savannah.nongnu.org/register/requirements.php),
in the section "No dependencies on nonfree software" before the last paragraph:


"A different case is when the program talks across a network with
a server running on another machine, and the server is proprietary or
has an unknown license; unless the two pieces of software make a
single program (for example because they exchange complex data
structures intimately), the client does not really depend on the server.
In such scenario the user is not required to install nor run any
proprietary software on per computer, so there's no dependency of
the client on the server, even if the server's responses are needed for
the program's main functionalities; said client program is therefore
eligible for hosting."


Please review it carefully.
I think that in some cases two pieces of software which talk across a
network are actually a single program, so I tried to exclude that
case after reading
https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.en.html#MereAggregation


Warmly,
Andrea G. Monaco