> There must be some way to restrain this relentless desire to cocoon everything in layers of legal entanglement.
It's very simple. We, in most countries, live in a legal system where creations default to maximum IP protection rather than minimum IP protection.
Everyone has their own opinion about that - and it's fascinating to read all of them - but this is the world we live in. Some people seem to have trouble understanding that and have retreated to the imaginary land of Shouldistan.
> Proper use as recommended on the site has zero legal ambiguity.
See above: we are not in Shouldistan.
> The CC0 suggestion is especially ironic since that has not approved. It doesn't actually exist as a legal standard which makes it unappealing.
They are words. They have meaning. The licence text doesn't need to 'exist' in whatever ontology you've dreamed up. You can write your very own licence and it will have legal effect by dint of the fact that words have meaning.
> The OSI, FSF, FANG and other such companies, and the European Union need to get over the idea that they can and even must dictate all aspects of intellectual property ownership as they see fit.
The European Union can dictate all aspects of intellectual property ownership as it sees fit[0]. The others don't, nor do they think they can, because that would be stupid, and none of those groups are (that) stupid. I don't know what you're referring to in suggesting that they believe that. I'm not altogether sure that you do either.
Again, you (very likely) do not personally dictate the law of the land where you live, so you'll have to suck it up and write a licence that conveys the legal restrictions (or lack thereof) that you intend to apply to your code.
I'm sorry that we don't live in a land where the law is exactly as you want it to be. You can stay in Shouldistan, raging against the fact that the world isn't exactly as you would like it to be, or you can get smart, grit your teeth, accept that the world is imperfect, and negotiate it as best you can to achieve your goals.
[0] ...more or less, in most member states, for the purposes of this conversation.
> There must be some way to restrain this relentless desire to cocoon everything in layers of legal entanglement.
It's very simple. We, in most countries, live in a legal system where creations default to maximum IP protection rather than minimum IP protection.
Everyone has their own opinion about that - and it's fascinating to read all of them - but this is the world we live in. Some people seem to have trouble understanding that and have retreated to the imaginary land of Shouldistan.
> Proper use as recommended on the site has zero legal ambiguity.
See above: we are not in Shouldistan.
> The CC0 suggestion is especially ironic since that has not approved. It doesn't actually exist as a legal standard which makes it unappealing.
They are words. They have meaning. The licence text doesn't need to 'exist' in whatever ontology you've dreamed up. You can write your very own licence and it will have legal effect by dint of the fact that words have meaning.
> The OSI, FSF, FANG and other such companies, and the European Union need to get over the idea that they can and even must dictate all aspects of intellectual property ownership as they see fit.
The European Union can dictate all aspects of intellectual property ownership as it sees fit[0]. The others don't, nor do they think they can, because that would be stupid, and none of those groups are (that) stupid. I don't know what you're referring to in suggesting that they believe that. I'm not altogether sure that you do either.
Again, you (very likely) do not personally dictate the law of the land where you live, so you'll have to suck it up and write a licence that conveys the legal restrictions (or lack thereof) that you intend to apply to your code.
I'm sorry that we don't live in a land where the law is exactly as you want it to be. You can stay in Shouldistan, raging against the fact that the world isn't exactly as you would like it to be, or you can get smart, grit your teeth, accept that the world is imperfect, and negotiate it as best you can to achieve your goals.
[0] ...more or less, in most member states, for the purposes of this conversation.