Re: [PATCH RFC 1/4] LICENSES: Add SIL Open Font License 1.1

From: Bagas Sanjaya
Date: Fri Nov 03 2023 - 20:53:18 EST


On Fri, Nov 03, 2023 at 09:49:54AM +0100, Greg Kroah-Hartman wrote:
> On Fri, Nov 03, 2023 at 03:11:36PM +0700, Bagas Sanjaya wrote:
> > On Thu, Nov 02, 2023 at 03:06:19PM +0100, Greg Kroah-Hartman wrote:
> > > On Thu, Nov 02, 2023 at 07:00:43PM +0700, Bagas Sanjaya wrote:
> > > > LICENSES/dual/OFL-1.1 | 107 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> > >
> > > You add this license, but then never actually reference it in the later
> > > changes, so it's going to be very confusing as to why it is here. Any
> > > way to add it to the font files themselves so our checker tools can
> > > handle this properly?
> >
> > There is TTF name string ID called "License". For example, on IBM Plex Sans,
> > the string value is:
> >
> > ```
> > This Font Software is licensed under the SIL Open Font License, Version 1.1. This license is available with a FAQ at: http://scripts.sil.org/OFL
> > ```
> >
> > Checking that string requires scripting fontforge, and since the string value
> > may differ (but has the same license) across different fonts, scripting it
> > can be non-trivial.
>
> And is that in the files you added? They are binary so it's hard to
> determine this :(

Yes.

>
> > >
> > > And, it's not going to work as a dual-license, you can't just suddenly
> > > dual-license those font files, right?
> >
> > I was thinking of putting OFL in LICENSES/exceptions instead due to this
> > nature.
>
> Yes, it can not be a dual one.

That's right!

What about just saying below in the CSS file that includes the fonts?

```
...
/* Some cool fonts are licensed under OFL 1.1, see
* LICENSES/exceptions/OFL-1.1 for more information. */
...
```
> > > > +Usage-Guide:
> > > > + Do NOT use this license for code, but it's acceptable for fonts (where the
> > > > + license is specifically written for them). It's best to use it together
> > > > + with a GPL2 compatible license using "OR", as OFL-1.1 texts processed by
> > > > + the kernel's build system might combine it with content taken from more
> > > > + restrictive licenses.
> > > > + To use the SIL Open Font License 1.1, put the following SPDX tag/value pair
> > > > + into a comment according to the placement guidelines in the licensing rules
> > > > + documentation:
> > > > + SPDX-License-Identifier: OFL-1.1
> > >
> > > Where did this Usage-Guide from?
> >
> > Adapted from LICENSES/dual/CC-BY-4.0.
>
> Which it shouldn't be :(
>
> Anyway, this is independent of the issue if we actually should take
> these fonts into the kernel tree, and mandate their use (my opinion is
> no, that's not for us to use, and especially for any action that might
> cause a web browser to look elsewhere outside of our documentation.)
>
> Also, for documentation, I'm pretty sure that serif fonts is proven to
> be "nicer" overall by many studies.

Any pointer to them? Or do serif fonts more readable and not causing
eye strain?

Thanks.

--
An old man doll... just what I always wanted! - Clara

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