Gentlemen,
I'd never thought I'd take part in such a debate. Let me comment from a position of someone who's been folowing this project with great anticipation and high hopes.
First of all I must say Alex's work and commitment to the project is outstanding. Maybe it is that he somehow makes his work most visible (I'm not trying to diminish the great work that all contributors have done).
However the discussion here is about something else. I do not think the discussion should be going along the lines if things can be done any other way or not. Also I wouldn't think that what someone called 'intent' is the most important thing (it maybe would be if it saved lives of people). The thing here is not about whether Alex understands the code he put into SVN (extensively) commented.
Let me provide an example here on a bit different level: suppose I like what a commercial(!) Java (or any other decompilable language) program does and decide to implement an open-source implementation. Would it be acceptable if I used decompiler to produce a readable code, study it, understand it, copy and paste those decompiled sources into my project and comment it extensively? I do not think so. The argument of understanding the code is irrelevant in this case as it is irrelevant in ReactOS's case. Is there so much difference between decompiled Java source code and disassembled binary (especially when the source has been assembly probably)?
The issue here is about the method and I believe (and that makes me sad) the method Alex used was against the law and no good intent can change that. I think copy-and-paste is illegal under any circumstances (I am strong oponnent of American patent law). I wish very much that Alex and Hartmut as well continue to work on this project and we see a day when it becomes an alternative to Windows. But this case puts the project into big danger in my opinion.
Just my 2cents.
Best regards
Radovan Skolnik