[Mono-devel-list] Some legal concerns...

[Tom Shelton]

First, I want to say that I am a big fan of the Mono project.   I think the 
work your doing and have done thus far is fantastic.  I am very much enjoying 
using Mono on Linux.   In fact, I have to say that Mono is the reason I'm 
using Linux again now - I have been developing in C# since the beta's and 
when I saw the progress Mono has been making, I just had to jump to this side 
of the fence and see what's going on :)

Anyway, here's my question - and I am a bit embarresed to ask...  But, I have 
been in this sort of on going debate on usenet and at work about the future 
of Mono from a legal standpoint.  There are a lot of people telling me that 
I'm crazy to put any resources into developing anything in Mono - since they 
claim, MS is going to shut it down at the first sign of success.   They claim 
that the MS patents on the API's make Mono an illlegal implementation.  I 
personally think that this will not happen - and I am continuing to evaluate 
Mono for potential future development....   I guess what I'm asking for is a 
little reassurance that these doomsday scenarios are bogus.   Things like, do 
you have a license or some kind of agreement with MS?

Forgive me if this has been asked before...   But, I sort of wanted to see 
what the current situation is (I have read the FAQ on go-mono.com in the 
past).

Keep up the good work!
Tom Shelton