Open source dmd on Reddit!

[Don]

Gregor Richards wrote:
> I sort of hate to throw myself into the fray, especially since my 
> studies have kept me more-or-less detached from D entirely, but ...
> 
> I realize people are going to misuse the term Open Source. However, the 
> term is NOT generic, and DOES have a specific meaning; it is in fact 
> trademarked, and using it to describe software that does not fit the 
> Open Source Definition is in violation of the trademark. 

Wow! I didn't know that. It's not going to stay that way for long, in 
fact I'd be surprised if a court case right now didn't rule that it's 
already become generic. For example, I have never *once* seen it written 
as "Open Source(TM)". And I've read dozens of GNU sites.

But more
> importantly than that, it's confusing to the loads of people out here 
> who use F/OSS and depend on the freedoms it provides. Without 
> redistribution rights, F/OSS is substantially less valuable, as it 
> doesn't provide any escape if the original creator loses interest, 
> spontaneously combusts, decides he hates giving away his source and 
> closes it again, etc, etc, etc.


I had thought that open = !closed. With this release, DMD is definitely 
not closed source.

Your comments imply that there's actually 3 states: open, closed, and 
inbetween.
Which is pretty confusing. (BTW, it's not clear to me that "open source" 
and "Open Source" are the same).

> 
> I understand that the reason the redistribution license isn't fully Open 
> Source is for quirkly legal reasons with Walter's license of it, and so 
> it's not really anybody's fault. I'm not trying to put any blame 
> anywhere for that part.
> 
> My only request is that people (or at least Walter) don't describe it 
> using the term "Open Source". It's confusing, it's wrong, and it dilutes 
> a perfectly meaningful term. Use "source available", "source included", 
> "non-redistributable source provided", I don't care, just not the term 
> with loaded additional meaning.

Fair enough.

>  - Gregor Richards
> 
> PS: Yes, I realize that there's nothing in the words "open" and "source" 
> that suggest all the other stuff. Welcome to English.
That's why you need (TM) or (R) if you want it to keep it as a trademark.