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task #10258: Submission of Formatted Actuarial Vignettes in R

Submitter:  Benedict Escoto <bescoto>
Submitted:  Wed 10 Mar 2010 03:39:51 AM UTC
   
 
Should Start On:  Tue 09 Mar 2010 08:00:00 AM UTC Should be Finished on:  Fri 19 Mar 2010 07:00:00 AM UTC
Category:  Project Approval Priority:  * 5 - Normal
Status:  Done Privacy:  Public
Assigned to:  marioxcc Open/Closed:  Closed
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Tue 06 Apr 2010 01:28:43 AM UTC, comment #13: 

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April 5th 2010 in GNU Savannah task #10258: "Submission of Formatted
Actuarial Vignettes in R"

>Can you approve the project now?


The project has been approved since this comment:
https://savannah.gnu.org/task/?10258#comment4.

Just I didn't closed the task because there were issues with the
licenses of some files.  But as those issuess has been now fixed I
close the task :).

Item status changes:

Status -> Done
Open/Closed -> Closed
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Mario Castelán Castro <marioxcc>
Sun 04 Apr 2010 01:56:45 AM UTC, comment #12: 

BTW if you look the page at http://www.favir.net/papers
you can see that the text of both the BasicReserving.pdf paper and the Parallelogram paper are now under the all-permissive license.  Here are some direct links:

http://www.favir.net/local--files/papers/BasicReserving.pdf
http://www.favir.net/local--files/papers/Parallelogram.pdf

Also you can look at the current version of favir.R:

http://hg.savannah.gnu.org/hgweb/favir/file/2693ec5caae3/favir/R/favir.R

and see that the IncludeLegal() function that authors are suggested to use puts the paper under the all-permissive license.

Can you approve the project now?

Benedict Escoto <bescoto>
Tue 30 Mar 2010 02:26:30 AM UTC, comment #11: 

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March 29th 2010 in GNU Savannah task #10258: "Submission of Formatted
Actuarial Vignettes in R"

>I'm aware of https://savannah.gnu.org/register/requirements.php, but
>I am using one of the listed licenses (GPL). That page only says that
>manuals must use the GFDL, not that all documentation has to. I could
>look through Savannah and find plenty of projects that have
>documentation that don't mention the GFDL (including all the projects
>I've worked on here before). I the the GFDL is probably good for full
>manuals, but not for shorter papers.


It says:

  For manuals, we allow only GNU FDL version X or later, or other
  licensing which is compatible with that.

So, it can be any FDL-compatible.

If the file in question is not a manual, What else is?.

>Anyway, if we agree on this, what do I need to do to get full
>approval?


You can keep the current licensing notice or replace by the GNU
all-permissive one because both them are ok.  You can also use any
other FDL-compatible license.
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Mario Castelán Castro <marioxcc>
Tue 30 Mar 2010 01:42:39 AM UTC, comment #10: 

Thanks Mario, it's good to know my project won't be deleted :)

I'm aware of https://savannah.gnu.org/register/requirements.php, but I am using one of the listed licenses (GPL).  That page only says that manuals must use the GFDL, not that all documentation has to.  I could look through Savannah and find plenty of projects that have documentation that don't mention the GFDL (including all the projects I've worked on here before).  I the the GFDL is probably good for full manuals, but not for shorter papers.

I like your suggestion of the all-permissive license; I think that is a good compromise: having the code GPLed and any PDFs and the products of the code under this permissive license.  That way people can pass the papers around without onerous restrictions.

Anyway, if we agree on this, what do I need to do to get full approval?

Thanks for your time,
Ben

Benedict Escoto <bescoto>
Tue 30 Mar 2010 01:23:25 AM UTC, comment #9: 

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March 29th 2010 in GNU Savannah task #10258: "Submission of Formatted
Actuarial Vignettes in R"

I think you are confussed.  Let me explain:

I'm not the boss, I'm administrator, wich is a very different thing.
We the administrators are not bossessess, we are volunteers than we
help in GNU Savannah.  The administratorship is a tool then enable us
to help Savannah by all means.  You can reach all other administrators
in -email is unavailable- (First subscribe:
http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/savannah-hackers-public).

I don't see a reason for delete this project, so don't worry, it will
not be deleted :).

>According to your logic, it seems all of latex would also have to be
>under the GFDL because it only serves to generate PDF output.


It don't "have to", is just is my advice.  Again
(https://savannah.gnu.org/task/?10258#comment6) if you write to
-email is unavailable- they will give you a more complete advice.

The FDL must be distributed along with the FDL-ed doccument.  The
rationale is to ensure all readers will know their rights and
obligations.

However, it is required
(https://savannah.gnu.org/register/requirements.php) than all
doccumentation is FDL-compatible, may be the FDL itself, or any other
license compatible with the FDL.

I sugessted you using the FDL because you express your wish to
copyleft the doccument in
https://savannah.gnu.org/task/?10258#comment3.

In the other side, you can use the GNU all-permissive license if you
wish:

  Copying and distribution of this file, with or without modification,
  are permitted in any medium without royalty provided the copyright
  notice and this notice are preserved.  This file is offered as-is,
  without any warranty.

Regards.
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Mario Castelán Castro <marioxcc>
Tue 30 Mar 2010 12:22:11 AM UTC, comment #8: 

Hi, I made the changes to that file you demanded, which you can see at the beginning of

http://hg.savannah.gnu.org/hgweb/favir/file/83109fe9619d/favir/inst/drafts/BasicReserving.Rnw

The GFDL is also checked into that repository.

I've been trying to educate myself on documentation licenses and I still disagree with you however.  According to your logic, it seems all of latex would also have to be under the GFDL because it only serves to generate PDF output.

Also after reading the GFDL it doesn't seem appropriate for short papers---if someone wants to give out 3 pages of a GFDL licensed paper, they also have to print out the full nine page GFDL!  The creative commons ShareAlike license seems much better, and I can see why wikipedia and other websites have switched to it from the GFDL.

So to sum things up, I don't like the GFDL and being forced to use it is a bummer.  I may not agree with you, but you are the boss, and I'm a fan of Savannah and am grateful that you and the other Savannah administrators donate your time even when you make bad decisions.  So, please don't delete my project.

Benedict Escoto <bescoto>
Mon 29 Mar 2010 11:25:05 PM UTC, comment #7: 

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March 29th 2010 in GNU Savannah task #10258: "Submission of Formatted
Actuarial Vignettes in R"

Hi,

I am waiting for an answer from you.

Please write a response in this tracker within three days, else I will
delete the submission, but you still will be able to resubmit the
projectagain once you have enought time to deal with the registration
processess.

If you are no longer planning use GNU Savannah please let us know.  We
won't bite, and it will make us gain time.

Regards.

Item status changes:

Status -> Ping-ed
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Mario Castelán Castro <marioxcc>
Thu 25 Mar 2010 01:21:52 AM UTC, comment #6: 



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March 24th 2010 in GNU Savannah task #10258: "Submission of Formatted
Actuarial Vignettes in R"

>Anyway thanks for the approval, and I am still interested in using
>Savannah.

Thanks for confirmation

- ---

About the Reserving.Rnw licensing:

>Maybe a useful criterion is whether a non-programmer can understand
>it. If they can, it's text; if not, it's code?

I think there isn't a good criteria, but rather use a case per case
evaluation.

I think the FDL is the better choise to Reserving.Rnw because the code
it contains is not usefull outside the doccument. It is: the code in
Reserving.Rnw is not meant to be included in a program, but only
serves to generate the PDF output. If you write to licensing@fsf.org
they will give you a better explanion.

Also, You may choise to use both FDL and GPL for the file in question
by using an hybrid notice:

This file is free software.

You may choise to recieve this work under one, and only one of the
following set of permissions (Ethier 1 or 2):

1. you can copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the
terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or any
later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover
Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled
"GNU Free Documentation License".

2. you can redistribute it and/or modify this document under the
terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free
Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your
option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
and/or the GNU General Public License along with this program. If
not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
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Mario Castelán Castro <marioxcc>
Wed 24 Mar 2010 05:02:22 AM UTC, comment #5: 

Thanks Mario.  I updated the description and only mention free software as per your instruction earlier.  About the code in Reserving.Rnw, I guess most of it is formatting code, but I was considering formatting to be code and not text.  For instance, here's a typical "code" snippet:

----------------
capecod.paid.fdf <- CapeCod(Latest(paid.devel.df), LDF.paid.selected.ult,
                            premium.fdf)
FieldHeadings(capecod.paid.fdf)$origin <- origin.field.heading
Caption(capecod.paid.fdf) <- "Cape Cod Loss Ratio Selection: Paid Loss"
Label(capecod.paid.fdf) <- "capecod paid 1"
capecod.paid.selected.lr <- (sum(capecod.paid.fdf[["value"]]) /
                             sum(capecod.paid.fdf[["used.premium"]]))
SummaryRow(capecod.paid.fdf) <- list(origin="Total",
                          value=sum(capecod.paid.fdf$value),
                          premium=sum(capecod.paid.fdf$premium),
                          used.premium=sum(capecod.paid.fdf$used.premium),
                          exp.ratio=capecod.paid.selected.lr)
print(capecod.paid.fdf)
---------------

It's true that what this code does is just make a table full of numbers, so it's all formatting in that sense (except for the initial call to CapeCod I suppose).  However, it's not English text (except for the caption)---you have to execute this code in R to produce the table.

I guess there is somewhat of a gray line between code that produces a document and the actual document.  For instance, HTML (w/o javascript) and most LaTeX I would call (marked-up) text, but I would call the above code.  Maybe a useful criterion is whether a non-programmer can understand it.  If they can, it's text; if not, it's code?

Anyway thanks for the approval, and I am still interested in using Savannah.

Benedict Escoto <bescoto>
Wed 24 Mar 2010 04:16:32 AM UTC, comment #4: 

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March 23th 2010 in GNU Savannah task #10258: "Submission of Formatted
Actuarial Vignettes in R"

I approve the project, but please tellme of what code are you talking
about.  I only see formatting code (In a LaTeX like syntax) in
Reserving.Rnw

Sorry for the long delay.  Are you still planning use GNU Savannah?
If not please let us know.  We won't bite, and it will make us gain
time.
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Mario Castelán Castro <marioxcc>
Fri 19 Mar 2010 12:00:17 AM UTC, comment #3: 

Thank you Mario for reviewing my project so closely.  Firstly, I have to apologize about using the phrase "open source".  I did read your guidelines and am well aware of the whole "open source" vs "free software" debate, and I actually agree with the free software people.  I just committed a typo on this one occasion.

About the GNU Free Documentation License, I was thinking that the GPL would be sufficient, because Reserving.Rnw is source code.  As it says on http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html:

-----------------------
Can I use the GPL for something other than software?

    You can apply the GPL to any kind of work, as long as it is clear what constitutes the “source code” for the work. The GPL defines this as the preferred form of the work for making changes in it.

    However, for manuals and textbooks, or more generally any sort of work that is meant to teach a subject, we recommend using the GFDL rather than the GPL.
------------------------

The file Reserving.Rnw contains a lot more source code than English text, so I thought it was necessary to GPL it to preserve the freedoms of the end user--without the GPL the distinction between the source code and final output would be lost.

So although the intention is for actuaries to learn from this, the main intended mechanism is for them to learn R/GNU S by reading the source!  The actual actuarial content is actually very minor, and already well known to many actuaries.

I agree it does kind of skirt the line between program (GPL) and paper (GFDL) but it is more program than paper, and for certain the program aspect will be the more valuable contribution of the project.  I'm sorry if I didn't explain this well to begin with and the original purpose of the project was not clear.  Your comments were very perceptive---I hope this adequately addresses them.  Let me know what you think!

Benedict Escoto <bescoto>
Thu 18 Mar 2010 12:17:17 AM UTC, comment #2: 

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March 17th 2010 in GNU Savannah task #10258: "Submission of Formatted
Actuarial Vignettes in R"

Hi Benedict.

Note that Savannah supports projects of the Free Software movement,
not projects of the Open Source movement.  We are careful about
ethical issues and insist on producing software that is not dependent
on proprietary software.

While Open Source, as defined by its founders, means something pretty
close to Free Software, it's frequently misunderstood.  For more
information, please see
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-for-freedom.html.

Please refer to the project as free software, at least here inside GNU
Savannah; this is on the requirements page.  Did you read the
requirements (https://savannah.gnu.org/register/requirements.php)
before checking the box "I agree with the hosting requirements"?; If
not, please read them.

Also note than, The GNU GPL 3 is a good copyleft license for code, but
for documentation we require a license compatible with the GNU FDL
whose is specific for protect the free status of the documentation and
books (Is copyleft too).

To FDL-license your documentation (Reserving.Rnw) please add the
following notice at the begin of the doccument:

  Copyright (C)  YEAR  YOUR NAME.

  Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this
  document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License,
  Version 1.3 or any later version published by the Free Software
  Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no
  Back-Cover Texts.  A copy of the license is included in the section
  entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".

And add a section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License" whose
contain the license itself (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl.html).
You may choise to use for the doccumentation any other license
compatible with the GNU FDL, but the FDL itself is adviced because it
is a copyleft license and ensures any derivate work will remain free
as in freedom.

Please add the licensing information to DESCRIPTION file too, since it
is non trivial, and therefore needs to have licensing information.

Item status changes:

Assigned to -> marioxcc
Status -> In progress
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Mario Castelán Castro <marioxcc>
Wed 17 Mar 2010 11:47:35 PM UTC, comment #1: 

Hi all, just posting to see what the current status is.  If there are any problems or concerns perhaps I could fix them.  If it just hasn't been looked at, can you estimate when you migth be able to take a look?

Thanks very much,
Ben

Benedict Escoto <bescoto>
Wed 10 Mar 2010 03:39:51 AM UTC, original submission:  

A new project has been registered at Savannah
This project account will remain inactive until a site admin approves or discards the registration.


Registration Administration


While this item will be useful to track the registration process, approving or discarding the registration must be done using the specific Group Administration page, accessible only to site administrators, effectively logged as site administrators (superuser):



Registration Details


  • Name: Formatted Actuarial Vignettes in R
  • System Name:  favir
  • Type: www.gnu.org portion
  • License: GNU General Public License v2 or later (The project will (hopefully eventually) include papers submitted by other actuaries.  These submitters will retain their copyright and may choose to release under a difference license (e.g. BSD instead of GPL, or a creative commons license).  However, submitters will be required to use a totally free (GPL-compatible) license.)





Description:

FAViR stands for Formatted Actuarial Vignettes in R.  The goal of FAViR is to lower the learning curve of the R environment, helping actuaries quickly produce and format the solutions to practical actuarial problems.

FAViR takes the form of a series of Sweave papers and an associated package.  All code is open source (GPL or BSD compatible).  Readers can apply the techniques in each paper to their own data simply by changing the inputs and rerunning the paper.  To assure consistency and quality, FAViR papers follow a consistent style and are peer reviewed.



Other Software Required:

R GPL http://www.r-project.org/
latex LPPL http://www.latex-project.org/
Tikz/PGF GPL http://sourceforge.net/projects/pgf/



Other Comments:

Some other random latex packages/styles may be used (e.g. booktabs http://ctan.org/tex-archive/macros/latex/contrib/booktabs/), but they are all free.

See the webpage http://favir.emerose.org

The pdf in the tarball is an example paper (compiled from Reserving.Rnw) and should also help you get a sense of what the project is about.


Tarball URL:

http://savannah.gnu.org/submissions_uploads/savannah-favir.tar.gz


Benedict Escoto <bescoto>

 

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    2010-04-06 marioxcc StatusPing-ed Done
        Open/ClosedOpen Closed
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    2010-03-18 marioxcc StatusNone In Progress
        Assigned toNone marioxcc

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