Copy-Pasting Bits of GPL2 Code

[rosiel]

I'm wondering how to navigate the twin dimensions of legality and kindness in Open Source Software.

There are a number of modules that UTSC has created that extract components from BD's work on the Install Profile (no license!) and make them available to be used outside of the Install Profile (and even outside of Islandora and Islandora Defaults). As I hear, some of said work was also originally extracted from other sources (e.g. Newspapers/Views Nested Details being taken from an abandoned module on Drupal.org, Views Details (GPL2).

The GPL2 is pretty clear that you're allowed to modify software. In the license, they state:

You must cause the modified files to carry prominent notices stating that you changed the files and the date of any change.

(as well as the virality of the license, i.e. that your modified copies must carry the same license).

But what I'm concerned about is attribution here. How do we be good OS citizens when we are using others' code in a way that doesn't resemble their original distribution?