[Opensim-dev] The Overte Foundation for OpenSimulator (Justin Clark-Casey)

Sat Jul 2 06:22:01 UTC 2011

Hi

Since IANAL, I have a couple of questions.

Usually when I encounter these kinds of licenses, they also imply that the
foundation obtains a right to re-license the copyrighIted material, since
the foundation has a separate copyright and thus may produce a copy under a
separate license. Will this also be the case for Overte?

What about the submissions made prior to license policy, will Overte
retroactively try to get the contributors to sign such a license?

My goal here is to ensure that OpenSim will remain free.

/Snowcrash

On Fri, Jul 1, 2011 at 12:32 AM, Andrew Hughes <
andrew.hughes at designingdigitally.com> wrote:

> Hi Guys,
>
> We would like to donate funds also to the Opensim Dev project. Please let
> me know when this is possible. Thanks!
>
>
>    Have a creative day,
>
>
> Andrew Hughes
> President
>
>
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> On Thu, Jun 30, 2011 at 6:26 PM, Justin Clark-Casey <
> jjustincc at googlemail.com> wrote:
>
>> Thanks very much for the offer, Justin.  If it's okay, I'll let you know
>> when we have a donation channel established. This might take a little while
>> since we're in the holiday season at the moment and various people are away.
>>
>> -- Justin
>>
>> On 30/06/11 16:25, Justin Lyon wrote:
>>
>>> Justin,
>>>
>>> Simudyne would be willing to donate some funds to help set-up the Overte
>>> Foundation. What would you need?
>>>
>>> Best,
>>> Justin
>>>
>>> On 30 Jun 2011, at 13:00, opensim-dev-request at lists.**berlios.de<opensim-dev-request at lists.berlios.de>wrote:
>>>
>>>  Send Opensim-dev mailing list submissions to
>>>>        opensim-dev at lists.berlios.de
>>>>
>>>> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
>>>>        https://lists.berlios.de/**mailman/listinfo/opensim-dev<https://lists.berlios.de/mailman/listinfo/opensim-dev>
>>>> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
>>>>        opensim-dev-request at lists.**berlios.de<opensim-dev-request at lists.berlios.de>
>>>>
>>>> You can reach the person managing the list at
>>>>        opensim-dev-owner at lists.**berlios.de<opensim-dev-owner at lists.berlios.de>
>>>>
>>>> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
>>>> than "Re: Contents of Opensim-dev digest..."
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Today's Topics:
>>>>
>>>>   1. Re: Built libbullet shared object libraries for Linux but
>>>>      this isn't what you wanted! (Justin Clark-Casey)
>>>>   2. The Overte Foundation for OpenSimulator (Justin Clark-Casey)
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ------------------------------**------------------------------**
>>>> ----------
>>>>
>>>> Message: 1
>>>> Date: Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:51:27 +0100
>>>> From: Justin Clark-Casey<jjustincc@**googlemail.com<jjustincc at googlemail.com>
>>>> >
>>>> To: opensim-dev at lists.berlios.de
>>>> Subject: Re: [Opensim-dev] Built libbullet shared object libraries for
>>>>        Linux but this isn't what you wanted!
>>>> Message-ID:<4E0BBA7F.7070206@**googlemail.com<4E0BBA7F.7070206 at googlemail.com>
>>>> >
>>>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed
>>>>
>>>> On 27/06/11 16:52, Adams, Robert wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Building Bullet itself is a start. Thanks Justin.
>>>>>
>>>>> The makefile should be fairly straight forward as there are just the
>>>>> two cpp files and one .h file with the only dependencies being on the std
>>>>> library and Bullet itself. As you now know, Bullet used CMAKE for its
>>>>> build/configuration tool and I don't know if there is a way to link a
>>>>> BulletSim build into it (put the Bullet directory under BulletSim and do a
>>>>> CMAKE which builds both together).
>>>>>
>>>>> I'm setting up a Linux build environment so I should be able to help
>>>>> anyone working on this by next weekend. I'm doing some stress testing this
>>>>> week and then I will look into linksets again -- I want to get vehicles
>>>>> working.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I put in a scratch Makefile and fixed one definition issue in
>>>> BulletSim.cpp.  However, on make this still brings up the
>>>> errors
>>>>
>>>> BulletSim.cpp:38:14: error: ?gDeactivationTime? was declared ?extern?
>>>> and later ?static?
>>>> BulletDynamics/Dynamics/**btRigidBody.h:29:17: error: previous
>>>> declaration of ?gDeactivationTime?
>>>> BulletSim.cpp: In member function ?int BulletSim::PhysicsStep(**btScalar,
>>>> int, btScalar, int*, EntityProperties***, int*,
>>>> unsigned int**)?:
>>>> BulletSim.cpp:107:79: error: cast from ?void*? to ?unsigned int? loses
>>>> precision
>>>> BulletSim.cpp:108:79: error: cast from ?void*? to ?unsigned int? loses
>>>> precision
>>>> BulletSim.cpp: In member function ?btCollisionShape*
>>>> BulletSim::CreateShape(**ShapeData*)?:
>>>> BulletSim.cpp:405:61: error: no matching function for call to
>>>> ?BulletSim::**AdjustScaleForCollisionMargin(**btCollisionShape*&,
>>>> btVector3)?
>>>> BulletSim.h:469:7: note: candidate is: void BulletSim::**
>>>> AdjustScaleForCollisionMargin(**btCollisionShape*, btVector3&)
>>>> BulletSim.cpp:426:62: error: no matching function for call to
>>>> ?BulletSim::**AdjustScaleForCollisionMargin(**btCollisionShape*&,
>>>> btVector3)?
>>>> BulletSim.h:469:7: note: candidate is: void BulletSim::**
>>>> AdjustScaleForCollisionMargin(**btCollisionShape*, btVector3&)
>>>> BulletSim.cpp:432:61: error: no matching function for call to
>>>> ?BulletSim::**AdjustScaleForCollisionMargin(**btCollisionShape*&,
>>>> btVector3)?
>>>> BulletSim.h:469:7: note: candidate is: void BulletSim::**
>>>> AdjustScaleForCollisionMargin(**btCollisionShape*, btVector3&)
>>>> BulletSim.cpp: In member function ?SweepHit BulletSim::ConvexSweepTest(
>>>> **unsigned int, btVector3&, btVector3&, btScalar)?:
>>>> BulletSim.cpp:1166:95: error: cast from ?void*? to ?unsigned int? loses
>>>> precision
>>>> BulletSim.cpp: In member function ?RaycastHit
>>>> BulletSim::RayTest(unsigned int, btVector3&, btVector3&)?:
>>>> BulletSim.cpp:1209:70: error: cast from ?void*? to ?unsigned int? loses
>>>> precision
>>>> make: *** [BulletSim.o] Error 1
>>>>
>>>> It's a long time since I did any significant c/cpp (and then it wasn't
>>>> on Linux) so I'm not sure why this is happening.
>>>>  Maybe it's gcc specific.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> I was able to pull opensim-libs anonymously last week (
>>>>> http://opensimulator.org/svn/**opensim-libs<http://opensimulator.org/svn/opensim-libs>).
>>>>> Has it broken since then?
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Thanks Robert - I was trying the wrong url.  I put the information into
>>>> the wiki.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> -- ra
>>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: opensim-dev-bounces at lists.**berlios.de<opensim-dev-bounces at lists.berlios.de>[mailto:
>>>>> opensim-dev-bounces@**lists.berlios.de<opensim-dev-bounces at lists.berlios.de>]
>>>>> On Behalf Of Justin Clark-Casey
>>>>> Sent: Sunday, June 26, 2011 4:48 PM
>>>>> To: opensim-dev at lists.berlios.de
>>>>> Subject: [Opensim-dev] Built libbullet shared object libraries for
>>>>> Linux but this isn't what you wanted!
>>>>>
>>>>> Hi Robert.  I briefly putzed around with building shared object Bullet
>>>>> 2.78 under Linux tonight and popped the results
>>>>> in as commit 23bf773 on the bulletsim branch.
>>>>>
>>>>> However, I just realised that you weren't asking for the bullet
>>>>> libraries to be built.  What you were really asking for
>>>>> in http://lists.berlios.de/**pipermail/opensim-dev/2011-**
>>>>> June/010271.html<http://lists.berlios.de/pipermail/opensim-dev/2011-June/010271.html>were Linux/OSX makefiles to build your
>>>>> BulletSim.dll interfacing library in the opensim-libs svn repo (for
>>>>> which anonymous access is unfortunately not
>>>>> currently working - this need to be fixed).
>>>>>
>>>>> That doesn't look too difficult but it's a little more involved for me
>>>>> since it's a long time since I wrote a Makefile.
>>>>>   I don't know when I might get a slice of time to do that, so I think
>>>>> help from anybody else would still be very much
>>>>> appreciated.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Justin Clark-Casey (justincc)
>>>> http://justincc.org/blog
>>>> http://twitter.com/justincc
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ------------------------------
>>>>
>>>> Message: 2
>>>> Date: Thu, 30 Jun 2011 02:21:51 +0100
>>>> From: Justin Clark-Casey<jjustincc@**googlemail.com<jjustincc at googlemail.com>
>>>> >
>>>> To: Opensim-users at lists.berlios.de**, opensim-dev at lists.berlios.de
>>>> Subject: [Opensim-dev] The Overte Foundation for OpenSimulator
>>>> Message-ID:<4E0BCFAF.5030908@**googlemail.com<4E0BCFAF.5030908 at googlemail.com>
>>>> >
>>>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>>>>
>>>> Dear all,
>>>>
>>>> As I'm sure everybody on these lists is aware, OpenSimulator currently
>>>> has some restrictions on who can contribute code
>>>> to the project (http://opensimulator.org/**wiki/Contributions_Policy<http://opensimulator.org/wiki/Contributions_Policy>
>>>> ).
>>>>
>>>> The most controversial of these is the one that prevents contributions
>>>> from people who have studied the Linden Lab
>>>> viewer within the past 6 months.
>>>>
>>>> This policy came about because the early core developers wanted to be
>>>> very cautious when dealing with a project that was
>>>> intimately intertwined with OpenSimulator through a common virtual world
>>>> protocol and concept, but which was licensed
>>>> under the copyleft GPL license rather than OpenSimulator's BSD license.
>>>>  It was also inspired by bad, though unrelated,
>>>> early experiences of unwanted inclusion of GPL code within
>>>> OpenSimulator.
>>>>
>>>> However, this rule increasingly restricts progress and innovation.  To
>>>> state the obvious, it effectively stops Linden
>>>> Lab viewer and third party viewer developers from contributing to
>>>> OpenSimulator and it stops OpenSimulator developers
>>>> from contributing code to those viewers.
>>>>
>>>> We do want to do something about this.  In very broad terms, there are
>>>> two choices of action.  Either we simply drop the
>>>> 6 month restriction or we establish a Contributor's License Agreement
>>>> (CLA) to explicitly clarify that a developer has
>>>> the necessary rights to contribute the code that they're giving.
>>>>
>>>> Simply dropping the restriction is tempting.  However, the conditions
>>>> under which it was established have not changed -
>>>> the core of the Linden Lab viewer and derivatives is still under the
>>>> copyleft LGPL license.  Some people think that in
>>>> general such restrictions are entirely unnecessary but others think that
>>>> it's a reasonable precaution in the absence of
>>>> a CLA.
>>>>
>>>> So the other alternative is to have that CLA.  This is the route that
>>>> we've started going down.  The proposal is to have
>>>> a CLA by which a contributor explicitly grants a copyright license over
>>>> their contributions.  Each contributor will
>>>> continue to own their own code (i.e. there is no transfer of copyright).
>>>>
>>>> Again, there is considerable debate over CLAs, with some people seeing
>>>> them as essential and others thinking that they
>>>> are entirely unnecessary.  However, many open-source projects have CLAs
>>>> (Apache, Django, Python, the Linden Lab viewer)
>>>> so we would not be in bad company.  Having to submit a CLA might also
>>>> reduce casual 'drive-by' patches, though we would
>>>> make CLA submitting as easy as possible - by accepting them
>>>> electronically, for instance.
>>>>
>>>> In order to grant a copyright license there needs to be a receiving
>>>> entity.  To this end, we are in the process of
>>>> setting up an organisation known as the Overte Foundation.  The Overte
>>>> Foundation will receive the copyright licenses
>>>> and become the official distributor of OpenSimulator rather than
>>>> individual core developers.  This will put it in a good
>>>> position to deal with code origin or other issues, if any should ever
>>>> arise.
>>>>
>>>> Once the CLA is complete, the current contribution restrictions to
>>>> OpenSimulator will be removed.  It will be down to
>>>> each developer (including core developers) to affirm via the CLA that
>>>> they have the necessary rights over the code that
>>>> they are contributing.
>>>>
>>>> One advantage of going down the foundation route is that it will also be
>>>> able to promote and support OpenSimulator in
>>>> other ways, quite possibly incorporating members of the community other
>>>> than just developers.  The foundation could also
>>>> extend to cover other open-source virtual-environment/virtual-**world
>>>> projects and components.  In the short term, though,
>>>> we will be concentrating on establishing the CLA.
>>>>
>>>> At some point soon we would be very grateful for donations to the Overte
>>>> Foundation in order to deal with some of the
>>>> costs involved in setting things up and for ongoing support and
>>>> promotion of OpenSimulator.  Setup costs should not be
>>>> too high since Ben Esplin of Pillsbury Law is very kindly donating time
>>>> and expertise (he also helped OSgrid establish
>>>> their organisation).
>>>>
>>>> We're actually still in the process of setting up the foundation so
>>>> we'll only be requesting donations once we have a
>>>> bank account for them.  However, we wanted to get this out in the open
>>>> now so that people know what is being proposed
>>>> and so that we can get feedback.
>>>>
>>>> For a much shorter public statement and FAQ about these topics shorn of
>>>> the historical context, please see
>>>>
>>>> http://opensimulator.org/wiki/**Foundation<http://opensimulator.org/wiki/Foundation>
>>>> http://opensimulator.org/wiki/**Foundation_FAQ<http://opensimulator.org/wiki/Foundation_FAQ>
>>>>
>>>> I will be acting as the first Overte Foundation president, with Diva as
>>>> treasurer, Melanie as secretary and Nebadon and
>>>> Ben as initial board members.  The foundation itself will not directly
>>>> control OpenSimulator development - this will
>>>> remain with the OpenSimulator team and community as it does now.
>>>>
>>>> Discussion about this is very welcome, whether supporting or critical.
>>>>  I'm logging off now so will likely answer any
>>>> points tomorrow.  Of course, other core developers are very welcome to
>>>> chip in.
>>>>
>>>> Best,
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Justin Clark-Casey (justincc)
>>>> http://justincc.org/blog
>>>> http://twitter.com/justincc
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ------------------------------
>>>>
>>>> ______________________________**_________________
>>>> Opensim-dev mailing list
>>>> Opensim-dev at lists.berlios.de
>>>> https://lists.berlios.de/**mailman/listinfo/opensim-dev<https://lists.berlios.de/mailman/listinfo/opensim-dev>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> End of Opensim-dev Digest, Vol 46, Issue 19
>>>> *********************************************
>>>>
>>>
>>> ______________________________**_________________
>>> Opensim-dev mailing list
>>> Opensim-dev at lists.berlios.de
>>> https://lists.berlios.de/**mailman/listinfo/opensim-dev<https://lists.berlios.de/mailman/listinfo/opensim-dev>
>>>
>>>
>>
>> --
>> Justin Clark-Casey (justincc)
>> http://justincc.org/blog
>> http://twitter.com/justincc
>> ______________________________**_________________
>> Opensim-dev mailing list
>> Opensim-dev at lists.berlios.de
>> https://lists.berlios.de/**mailman/listinfo/opensim-dev<https://lists.berlios.de/mailman/listinfo/opensim-dev>
>>
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