[nem-en] Legally Distributing Visual Studio Plugin Source

[NoiseEHC]

I do not think so.

 From VSIP license (snipped):
3. DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS AND REQUIREMENTS.
3.1 Eligible Product Rights. The Software contains the following items 
(“Distributable Code”) that you may distribute in Eligible Products or 
Integration Code if you comply with Sections 3.3 and 3.4:
· Sample Code. You may modify, copy, and distribute the source and 
object code form of code marked as “sample.”
3.2 Community Rights. You may also separately distribute Integration 
Code, sample code, and excerpts from documentation in the Software 
(“Excerpts”) if you comply with Section 3.3.
3.3 General Restrictions.
· Pass-Thru Terms. You will require distributors and external end users 
of Distributable Code and Excerpts to agree to terms that protect such 
items at least as much as this agreement.
· Legal Notices. You will not alter any copyright, trademark, patent, or 
other legal notice or disclaimer in the Distributable Code or Excerpts.
· Excluded Licenses. You will not modify or distribute the source code 
of any Distributable Code so that any part of it becomes subject to an 
Excluded License. An “Excluded License” is one that requires, as a 
condition of use, modification or distribution, that (a) the code be 
disclosed or distributed in source code form; or (b) others have the 
right to modify it.

So as I can understand it (the NEW VSIP license) you can distribute 
source as long as it is not GPL.

Also see:
http://blogs.msdn.com/dotnetinterop/archive/2005/12/07/500251.aspx

BTW I will probably will write a letter to MS to clarify it...

Kenneth Ismert wrote:
>>> Also, I'm still not sure if making the plugin source code
>>> public is permitted by VSIP EULA. AFAIK it forbids it...
>>> Still, I guess it will be ok to share compiled binaries or
>>> maybe even release them on the page in future...
>>>       
>
> The solution is to incorporate. 'Nemerle Holdings, Inc.', or some such,
> would own the VS Plug-in source. It would give away free 'evaluation'
> binaries, basically unlimited use copies. If you wanted the source, you
> would become a 'developer parter', by sending $1 to the company. That
> would get you access to the source repository. Then, it works like any
> Open Source project. 
>
> The company would be run by 'shareholders', who are just developer
> partners who purchase a share for some token amount. The shareholders
> meet online, hold elections to select virtual board of directors, to
> meet the minimal requirements of sustaining the corporation. Sales of
> partnerships and shares help defray the costs of operating the servers,
> etc.
>
> The concept is taken from Database Advisors Inc., a non-profit, virtual
> corporation whose goal is to support free support forums for Access and
> SQL Server. See: 
>
>   http://www.databaseadvisors.com/aboutus/whoweare.htm
>
> I know that this is not 'Open Source' for the purist, but it is a close
> as you are likely to get, given Microsoft's current restrictions.
>
> -Ken Ismert
>
>
>
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