John Carmack
id Software | Lead Programmer | Feb 24, 2000, 18:34:45 (ET) | johnc@idsoftware.com

Name: John Carmack
Email: johnc@idsoftware.com
Description: Programmer
Project: Quake 3 Arena
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2/24/00
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Some people took it upon themselves to remotely wreck Slade's development
system. That is no more defensible than breaking into Id and smashing
something.

The idea isn't to punish anyone, it is to have them comply with the license
and continue to contribute. QuakeLives has quite a few happy users, and it
is in everyone's best interest to have development continue. It just has to
be by the rules.


2/23/00
-------
This is a public statement that is also being sent directly to Slade at
QuakeLives regarding
http://www.quakelives.com/main/ql.cgi?section=dlagreement&file=qwcl-win32/

I see both sides of this. Your goals are positive, and I understand the issues
and the difficulties that your project has to work under because of the GPL.
I have also seen some GPL zealots acting petty and immature towards you very
early on (while it is within everyone's rights to DEMAND code under the GPL, it
isn't necessarily the best attitude to take), which probably colors some of your
views on the subject.

We discussed several possible legal solutions to the issues.

This isn't one of them.

While I doubt your "give up your rights" click through would hold up in court,
I am positive that you are required to give the source to anyone that asks for
it that got a binary from someone else. This doesn't provide the obscurity
needed for a gaming level of security.

I cut you a lot of slack because I honestly thought you intended to properly
follow through with the requirements of the GPL, and you were just trying to
get something fun out ASAP. It looks like I was wrong.

If you can't stand to work under the GPL, you should release the code to your
last binary and give up your project. I would prefer that you continue your
work, but abide by the GPL.

If necessary, I will pay whatever lawyer the Free Software Foundation
reccomends to pursue this.
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