[php-maint] Bug#498621: permission to remove the "When you use this, send an email to" requirement from the MTRand code

Raphael Geissert atomo64 at gmail.com
Thu Sep 25 22:56:58 UTC 2008


Hello everybody,

At Debian we have recently stumbled upon a "hidden"[0] clause[1] in a source 
code file included in PHP since php4. Since this clause is not free in terms 
of the Debian Free Software Guidelines (DFSG)[2] it prevents us (Debian) from 
distributing the php interpreter.

I am thereby asking for your permission to remove the clause; but I would like 
you to give permission to *anybody* and not just Debian, as otherwise it 
would be a violation of the DFSG.

Although Shawn Cokus and Richard J. Wagner stated that it would be _nice_ to 
CC them it would be nice to get an OK by them too.

When replying please send a copy of the message to, at least, the addresses in 
Reply-To.

[0] It was not noticed until a couple of weeks ago by Jan Wagner, who reported 
the problem at http://bugs.debian.org/499471

[1]  From php's ext/standard/rand.c:
>         The original code included the following notice:
>
>         When you use this, send an email to: matumoto at math.keio.ac.jp
>     with an appropriate reference to your work.
>
>         It would be nice to CC: rjwagner at writeme.com and
> Cokus at math.washington.edu when you write.

[2] http://www.debian.org/social_contract#guidelines

Yours sincerely,
Raphael Geissert
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