[ajross]

A README isn't source distribution (though I suppose it would constitute a "written offer to provide source", which is allowable under the GPL). And it can't be retroactively applied to versions of emacs that are already distributed.

The goof here isn't that emacs is somehow "polluted" going forward; everyone agrees that this is easy to fix. The problem is that existing versions of emacs were/are distributed in a form that is a violation of its own license.