[tex-live] Unclear License of AMSLaTeX

[Karl Berry]

    i don't think he has
    stated that the only way a genuine "tex" -- that
    being an implementation that passes the trip
    test -- can be created is by using the provided
    change file mechanism.

Agreed, definitely not.  But can it created by 

cp tex.web mytex.web
emacs mytex.web
<hack for a decade or so :)>

?  Or do I have to write my own implementation from scratch, using code
from tex.web as I see fit, but not starting with the whole thing and
modifying it?  That's the crucial question.

I wonder what the commercial implementors did.  Of course their source
code can never be seen, except for Y&Y -- I see no change at all there,
so maybe Berthold just modified the C sources.  Dunno.

    about a fourth point in the list at the top of
      http://www.ams.org/tex
    addressing "licensing"?  if that's acceptable,

I think that would be very helpful.


Thanks,
k