🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Aug11.103521.24421@cl.cam.ac.uk> ag129@cl.cam.ac.uk (Alasdair Grant) writes:
>>    (If you want more information about interface copyrights and a related
>> dilemma---software patents---write to the League for Programming Freedom,
>> league@prep.ai.mit.edu.  The LPF is a separate organization from the GNU
>> Project, with different objectives.  Don't be confused about the two).
>
>So why did I get asked for my opinion about software patents when I
>reported a bug in Bison to the official GNU project address as given in
>the documentation?  It's no wonder people get confused.

   Well, the LPF is composed almost entirely of volunteers, most of whom
will spend individual effort trying to raise awareness about the subject.
I can tell you as an employee at the FSF that we heartily (if not
desperately) endorse the LPF, since the FSF feels it has a lot to lose by
software patents and interface copyrights.  That's why, for example, I
volunteered to answer email addressed to league@prep.ai.mit.edu in order to
help out the LPF. 

   This doesn't mean that the LPF endorses the FSF, or that the LPF has any
interest in "free software".  It's much more conservative than that, and
only objects to certain recent changes in copyright and patent law.  The
LPF is a political organization, not a software house (some people might
consider the FSF to be fairly political in nature, but if so it primarily
makes its statement by actually producing free software, not by lobbying to
have any laws changed).

   I think some of the initial confusion came from the fact that Richard
Stallman was president of both organizations, and he founded both of them.
That confusion was one of the reasons he decided to resign as president of
the LPF when his term was up.  I think he has always been careful to keep
the goals of each organization distinct, even if other people made
connections between to two by the fact that he was involved in both of
them.

   Perhaps it doesn't help that the LPF's contact address is at the same
site as the GNU mailing lists.  Well, where could we reliably put the
contact address such that it wouldn't generate such confusion?  It was an
obvious choice given that most of the directors and active LPF volunteers
work here in Cambridge.  It was also the cheapest.