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OSS license and restrictions
Wonder if anyone at Yahoo (nee Zimbra) can confirm what forks would be possible with the Zimbra Code? Open Source does not equal Free (speech) software, can we take anything from the source that has been open and use it anywhere eles? The license was based on the Mozilla license and it was possible for Debian to convert the source for Firefox to IceWeasel and free the code. My reading of the Zimbra license is that this is not possible - can anyone with knowledge confirm that assertion?
As to the likely future [snip]
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This is an extremely succinct summary from kevindods. It has asked the really important question for the opensource community: Is it possible to free the zimbra code, if what many people see as the inevitable occurs - zimbra is effectively killed off like with so many other corporate acquisitions.
I hope this is not the case, but it would be a dream come true for opensource if the code could be freed as with iceweasel (although I suspect this is not the case).
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That's a big brush you are wielding. This is not particularly surprising train of thought - it's part of the reason that Stallman is so dismissive of Linux, Mozilla , Java and Gnome. For all of the FSF's outspoken vitriol on this issue, there is a reason everyone runs Linux instead of GNU herd, uses Java for programming, runs their desktop in Gnome, and views web pages served from Apache in Mozilla. Everyone one of those packages are or were commercially backed and form the foundation of the Microsoft alternatives today.
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Without wanting to pick at arguments here, I respect what you are saying here but disagree, and agree with kevindods. Reason for Linux vx Hurd is technical not ideological, Java has been massively held back from its potential in the past purely due to its licensing, gnome was effectively started for ideological reasons against commercial interests (kde/qt licensing), Apache derives from academic roots (A Patchy NCSA server). People also tend to forget that most 'Linux', more accurately called GNU/Linux distribution, is actually RMS/FSF code.
I love the Zimbra product, and from a commercial customer point of view I love the way the product is sold/put together. From an opensource point of view however it's very far from ideal, and kevindod hits the nail on the head with his last paragraph.