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Re: Outdated and license-violating Java code snippets on Stack Overflow

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On Saturday, July 29, 2017 at 8:30:00 AM UTC-4, crag...@gmail.com wrote:
> Hi Eric, 
> 
> 1) We plan to release the findings from this survey to the Stack Overflow community (possibly as a technical report). This is because we received some feedbacks from SO users that we previously released the survey to that they would like the know our findings.
> 2) We do not expect the poster of the code snippet to actively maintaining the code. However, we believe it would be better to have some mechanism in place on Stack Overflow that could flag if the code snippet has been copied from somewhere else and it is already outdated (and also with conflicting license).
> 3) Stack Overflow applies CC BY-SA 3.0 license to both text and code snippets on the posts. The CC BY-SA 3.0 is quite permissive. So, for example, if I copy a code snippet from an open source project that has GPL license but I do not include the original license in the copied snippet, this snippet may appear to be protected by CC BY-SA 3.0 instead of its original GPL license. We have performed another study using code clone detection tools to detect SO snippets that were copied from 111 open source projects. We found at least 357 of them violate their original licenses.

I would advise that you look into an application of the Fair Use laws in
various countries.  These allow me, in a for-profit endeavor even, to
use up to 30 seconds of something that is copyrighted in my production,
without requesting use rights, or without requiring any type of royalty.

Surely there must be something similar related to open source endeavors
that would override your entire project.

People don't typically post the entire code base for GIMP when they are
including a 5-line snippet of an algorithm taken from the GIMP library.
And in addition, most places where I've seen code referenced like that
on Stack Overflow, they have given attribution to the original project.
They cite by link and name where they got the code, with the purpose
and intent of their citing that link to be giving the reader the oppor-
tunity to look at the larger source and derive more information for
their answer if needed ... i.e., to better help people.

I was really surprised when I read this post the other day.  I didn't
reply at that time, but I stuck it in the back of my mind.  And then
today with these follow-ups ... I think you are notably on a wrong
path.  You are serving wrong needs.  You are trying to address the
wrong problems.  And you are going to end up harming people with your
goals.

I wish your endeavor great failure.  And I pray for you to re-examine
your purpose and intent and come away from this disaster and pick a
real purpose in life, one that will actually help people, and address
the needs of billions rather than hundreds.

Look around you.  Look into the eyes of the people in this online
community.  Look into their needs and serve those people, not the
ones who erect artificial barriers around things so they can exert
monopoly rights which would not otherwise exist.  Please.

Thank you,
Rick C. Hodgin

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Thread

Outdated and license-violating Java code snippets on Stack Overflow cragkhit@gmail.com - 2017-07-26 14:50 -0700
  Re: Outdated and license-violating Java code snippets on Stack Overflow j4n bur53 <janburse@fastmail.fm> - 2017-07-27 16:20 +0200
    Re: Outdated and license-violating Java code snippets on Stack Overflow Eric Douglas <e.d.programmer@gmail.com> - 2017-07-27 08:10 -0700
      Re: Outdated and license-violating Java code snippets on Stack Overflow cragkhit@gmail.com - 2017-07-29 05:29 -0700
        Re: Outdated and license-violating Java code snippets on Stack Overflow "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2017-07-29 05:57 -0700
        Re: Outdated and license-violating Java code snippets on Stack Overflow Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2017-07-29 18:35 -0400
        Re: Outdated and license-violating Java code snippets on Stack Overflow Eric Douglas <e.d.programmer@gmail.com> - 2017-07-31 05:11 -0700
          Re: Outdated and license-violating Java code snippets on Stack Overflow Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2017-07-31 19:12 -0400
    Re: Outdated and license-violating Java code snippets on Stack Overflow Jerry Stuckle <jstucklex@attglobal.net> - 2017-07-27 20:13 -0400
      Re: Outdated and license-violating Java code snippets on Stack Overflow cragkhit@gmail.com - 2017-07-29 05:31 -0700
    Re: Outdated and license-violating Java code snippets on Stack Overflow cragkhit@gmail.com - 2017-07-29 05:19 -0700
      Re: Outdated and license-violating Java code snippets on Stack Overflow "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2017-07-29 05:30 -0700

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