OpenGL manpages

[Jon Leech]

David Nusinow writes:
> Would it be possible to get these manpages licensed under something more
> permissive than this license? Debian currently considers this license
> non-free due to the restriction on hardware implementations in section 2.3
> of the current version. We are currently evaluating our plans with respect
> to the GLX code for our future releases, and if we have the opportunity to
> have these manpages licensed under a more traditional Free license, I'd
> prefer to see it.

    There is nobody left within SGI to advocate for or support such a
change. So realistically the only way it could happen is if someone else
buys the OpenGL IP from SGI (quite possible - it is on the table), and
that buyer decides to change the license.

    If you want to tilt at windmills, email me and I'll give you the
address of the head of SGI Legal.

    You might also want to consider what the realistic likelihood of any
of SGI's very few remaining graphics patents having some bearing on man
pages describing an abstract API is (or of having any bearing on the GLX
interface code, for that matter). The hardware exception clause in the
FreeB license is *very* narrowly drawn, by intention and through
extensive discussion with the players in the Linux 3D world at the time
it was drawn up.

    Jon