From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: from smtp1.linuxfoundation.org (smtp1.linux-foundation.org [172.17.192.35]) by mail.linuxfoundation.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id D0B4071 for ; Fri, 26 Aug 2016 23:02:39 +0000 (UTC) Received: from imap.thunk.org (imap.thunk.org [74.207.234.97]) by smtp1.linuxfoundation.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 22C8B1CF for ; Fri, 26 Aug 2016 23:02:39 +0000 (UTC) Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2016 19:02:36 -0400 From: Theodore Ts'o To: Jeremy Allison Message-ID: <20160826230236.yky53kd5k4632ftd@thunk.org> References: <20160826193331.GA29084@jra3> <20160826224213.GA1181@jra3> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <20160826224213.GA1181@jra3> Cc: Linus Torvalds , ksummit-discuss@lists.linuxfoundation.org Subject: Re: [Ksummit-discuss] [CORE TOPIC] GPL defense issues List-Id: List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , On Fri, Aug 26, 2016 at 03:42:13PM -0700, Jeremy Allison via Ksummit-discuss wrote: > The other thing to remember is Bradley isn't the one making the > decisions here. It's the developers - *ALWAYS* the developers. > Bradley and the Conservancy staff can give advice, but they do > not do *anything* without a direct mandate from the copyright > holders. > > Conservancy acts when developers ask them to. It isn't accurate > to think of Bradley or Conservancy as a rogue actor running around > doing their own thing. Ah, but *which* developers? There are a huge number of entities who own copyrights in the Linux kernel. Does the Conservancy get to pick and choose which developers they will listen to? What about the companies that own copyright in the Linux kernel, such as Red Hat, IBM, Intel, Google, and others? Do they get a seat at the table? What about Linus's opinions? Is the Conservancy going to at least ask the major copyright holders whether they are OK with a lawsuit before going ahead, and stop if they say No? Or so long as you can find some number of developers who say, "go for it!" you'll start filing the paperwork at the courthouse? There have been at least some representation made by Conservancy staff that appear to denote that they have their set of developers and that they are going to do what they are going to do, regardless of what other copyright holders might think. Perhaps it might be understandable why some might feel that your term of "rogue actor" might actually be appropriate? As I said in another e-mail; at the heart of this question is really a governance / polity issue, and I don't believe the Kernel Summit is well situated to address these sorts of questions, as we don't have all of the stakeholders present. - Ted