Frequently asked questions from distributors

This page is for people who want to distribute copies of my software or derivative works: for example, an operating system that includes the software. I have partially waived my copyrights; this page gives the details.

You don't need to read this page if you simply want to use my software. You are free to download the software from my web server; you then own that copy of the software, and you are free to compile it and run it.

You also don't need to read this page if you simply want to set up a mirror of my web pages.

This page is not complete. Some of my software is in the public domain, for example, and there is a separate page for qmail distributors. But I plan to centralize distributor information here.

May we put this package on a CD?

You may distribute exact copies of any of the following packages:

MD5 checksum	Package
`67d51c5403c03f08d6ba8fff0108ab27`	`dnscache-1.00.tar.gz` (obsolete)
`50ec2b2588e85125f6b427cfb1b0df49`	`djbdns-1.01.tar.gz` (obsolete)
`c27b7ffd4af1c93db96f40f6d5f793b6`	`djbdns-1.02.tar.gz` (obsolete)
`d756ecca7aa5a0384860eee074f8c3fa`	`djbdns-1.03.tar.gz` (obsolete)
`31ae12bd7f4fb213f830f1b5d302a82a`	`djbdns-1.04.tar.gz` (obsolete)
`3147c5cd56832aa3b41955c7a51cbeb2`	`djbdns-1.05.tar.gz`

This permission is permanent. For example, you may continue distributing djbdns-1.01.tar.gz as long as you want. Of course, I encourage you to keep up with new versions.

I'm interested in hearing about any CDs that include my packages, but you don't have to check with me if you don't want to.

May we distribute binaries?

You may distribute a precompiled package if

installing your package produces exactly the same files, in exactly the same locations, that a user would obtain by installing one of my packages listed above;
your package behaves correctly, i.e., the same way as normal installations of my package on all other systems; and
your package's creator warrants that he has made a good-faith attempt to ensure that your package behaves correctly.

All installations must work the same way; any variation is a bug. If there's something about a system (compiler, libraries, kernel, hardware, whatever) that changes the behavior of my package, then that platform is not supported, and you are not permitted to distribute binaries for it.

You may distribute an operating system that includes a precompiled package under the same rules.

What about test packages?

You may distribute exact copies of any of the following packages, or precompiled packages under the same rules as above, until the termination date shown:

Termination	MD5 checksum	Package
2007-01-01	`1871af2453d6e464034968a0fbcb2bfc`	`daemontools-0.76.tar.gz`
2007-01-01	`39b619147db54687c4a583a7a94c9163`	`ucspi-tcp-0.88.tar.gz`

Why can't we rename your files?

Compatibility is essential. Files must be accessible by the same names on all systems.

We can't distribute software that we're not allowed to modify!

Is that a question?

You hypocrites distributed Netscape Navigator for years without even being able to see the source code. And now you're lying to your users, telling them that I am not allowing you to incorporate my software into your system. Have you no shame?

(Red Hat's Bernard Rosenkraenzer has no shame. ``qmail and djbdns are not open source, so we aren't going to ship them unless the license changes,'' he wrote on 2001-04-16. ``Netscape will disappear in future releases, so it won't be hypocritical any more.'')

Rick Moen says you can revoke these permissions by changing your web page!

Is that a question?

Rick Moen is an idiot. (In case there are several Rick Moens in the world: I'm talking about rick@linuxmafia.com.) Feel free to ask your attorney to explain waivers to you.

Wait, now Rick Moen says he never said that!

Is that a question?

Here's Rick Moen's original public statement, in his own words:

Unmodified specific versions of qmail and djbdns/tinydns (formerly dnscache) may be redistributed -- or at least so claimed Bernstein's Web pages, recently. Will those continue to be there, to point to? ... Essentially, you're betting that Bernstein never changes his mind, if you rely on such software.

(Emphasis added.)

Here's a subsequent public statement from Moen's friend J. Paul Reed:

DJB could, theoretically, retract his sofftware, shutdown his webpages, and proceed to sue everyone distributing his software.

(Followed, in the original, by a link to Moen's web page.)

Here's some subsequent backpedaling by Moen: ``Are you saying that DJB can revoke the licence to his software by changing or removing his Web pages? No, of course not.''