www/licenses gpl-faq.html

[Brett Smith]

CVSROOT:        /web/www
Module name:    www
Changes by:     Brett Smith <brett>     08/10/23 15:23:02

Modified files:
        licenses       : gpl-faq.html 

Log message:
        New question about AGPLv3-covered client software.

CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/licenses/gpl-faq.html?cvsroot=www&r1=1.138&r2=1.139

Patches:
Index: gpl-faq.html
===================================================================
RCS file: /web/www/www/licenses/gpl-faq.html,v
retrieving revision 1.138
retrieving revision 1.139
diff -u -b -r1.138 -r1.139
--- gpl-faq.html        20 Oct 2008 15:29:59 -0000      1.138
+++ gpl-faq.html        23 Oct 2008 15:22:28 -0000      1.139
@@ -219,6 +219,10 @@
     Program&rdquo; refer to?  Is it every program ever released under
     GPLv3?</a></li>
 
+    <li><a href="#AGPLv3ServerAsUser">If some network client software
+    is released under AGPLv3, does it have to be able to provide
+    source to the servers it interacts with?</a></li>
+
  </ul>
 
   <h4>Using GNU licenses for your programs</h4>
@@ -3051,6 +3055,28 @@
 <dd><p>Nothing.  The GPL does not place any conditions on this
 activity.</p></dd>
 
+<dt><b><a name="AGPLv3ServerAsUser">If some network client software is
+released under AGPLv3, does it have to be able to provide source to
+the servers it interacts with?</a></b></dt>
+
+<dd><p>This should not be required in any typical server-client
+relationship.  AGPLv3 requires a program to offer source code to
+&ldquo;all users interacting with it remotely through a computer
+network.&rdquo; In most server-client architectures, it simply
+wouldn't be reasonable to argue that the server operator is a
+&ldquo;user&rdquo; interacting with the client in any meaningful
+sense.</p>
+
+<p>Consider HTTP as an example.  All HTTP clients expect servers to
+provide certain functionality: they should send specified responses to
+well-formed requests.  The reverse is not true: servers cannot assume
+that the client will do anything in particular with the data they
+send.  The client may be a web browser, an RSS reader, a spider, a
+network monitoring tool, or some special-purpose program.  The server
+can make absolutely no assumptions about what the client will
+do&mdash;so there's no meaningful way for the server operator to be
+considered a user of that software.</p></dd>
+
 <dt><b><a name="AllCompatibility">How are the various GNU licenses
 compatible with each other?</a></b></dt>   
 
@@ -3297,7 +3323,7 @@
 <p>
 Updated:
 <!-- timestamp start -->
-$Date: 2008/10/20 15:29:59 $
+$Date: 2008/10/23 15:22:28 $
 <!-- timestamp end -->
 </p>
 </div>