this post was submitted on 04 May 2024
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yes deleting files wouldn't violate GPL-3.0 to the best of my knowledge as those files would still be under the GPL license,
if anyone wanted to use a file licensed under any of GPL licenses the user would be required to license any modified or redistibuted files under the same license ("or later") as to not violate the copyleft terms
Just a minor clarification/correction: the "or later" part also depends on the license per se. There is a GPL-3.0-only and a GPL-3.0-or-later. Usually you'll find something like "or at your option any later version." if that is the case, but by default you should expect the GPL-3.0-only to apply.
I always found it a bit nebulous to have the "or later" statement / option. Because that is not precise and which GPL is meant to? Everyone can write a new version of the GPL. The "or later" does not specify which, it just implies it would be GNU GPL. It's been a long time since I read and studied the GPLv2, never v3 and I actually never really understood how the "or later" would be allowed.
Licensing is still confusing, even after more than a decade.
The standard GPL permission statement explicitly clarifies that the license is "as published by the Free Software Foundation" so any later version of the license has to come from the FSF.
The reason for the "or later" clause is to allow the FSF to update the GPL in response to flaws that are discovered. The "or later" clause is controversial because it effectively allows the FSF to change the licensing terms of any software licensed under such a clause, and so some developers who don't trust the FSF with this authority omit this clause. Famously, Linux is licensed only under GPLv2 with no or-later option (Linus has been a vocal opponent of GPLv3)
Oh that's good to know! Yeah, I never liked the "or later" too. To be fair, the software you licensed won't change the license if a new updated version comes out. It's just a third party can opt-in. So this is not a situation like a software agreement where the publisher can change the agreements at any time with full effect, despite you agreed to a prior agreement. I don't think "or later" is evil, but I personally don't like anything that is not explicit.