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License?

 
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stonecobra



Joined: 25 May 2004
Posts: 48
Location: Rough and Ready, CA

PostPosted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 12:53 pm    Post subject: License? Reply with quote

Do you intend a specific license for Sendero? I don't see any reference in the code.
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aaronc542



Joined: 22 May 2007
Posts: 35
Location: NJ, USA

PostPosted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 1:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I apologize for not responding to this question earlier. Honestly at the time I had no idea what to say. I hadn't considered licensing before writing the software. I just did it.

No that I've had some time to think, I can say this.

Some modules (in particular those destined for possible inclusion in Tango or other libraries) will have licenses fairly liberal licenses (i.e. BSD style).

I have decided that for the framework as a whole, however, a different licensing strategy is more appropriate. In paticular, one that limits commerical use of the library. Why?

I spent a fair amount of time deliberating over this and reading various opinions. Below is what I decided upon after careful consideration:

* The Sendero framework will be available for general use under the GNU Affero General Public License. This license allows the software to be used to create other open source software and allows anyone to create network/web software assuming that they make the source code open source. It is a fairly restrictive license.

* Non-profit/non-commercial users may use Sendero to create web/network applications under the conditions of the GPL. That is, they will not need to make the source code of their web/internet application open source.

* Commercial users may obtain a commercial license to use the software for web/internet applications or to link the library to other software to be redistributed in object form.

* Some modules within the library may release under less restrictive licenses that allow for commercial use.

* Commercial licenses for small businesses/small contractors will be available at significantly lower costs (or for free). I will ask that interested parties contact me to discuss. In particular, I would like for small independent consultants (such as myself) to use the library pretty much unrestricted for small projects if they, for instance, agree to be part of the development process or are obvious active contributors to open-source projects. I would also like to make free or very low cost commercial licenses available to businesses whose primary focus is sustainable technology/sustainability or who have integrated sustainable practices as a core part of their business model. Licenses will be provided on an individual basis, however.

Why have I chosen this model? Simply because I don't want to do free work for large corporations or projects that will be making a large profit off off the framework. Sorry! No free lunch. I do want to encourage open-source development and I want to create a high quality/high performance library for projects that are in the public interest. But considering the array of frameworks available and where Sendero's framework may be, I do not think it will be the library of choice for the average small project. It is a programmer's library and takes some comfortability with working with compiled code (although I think that for users in this category, they will find it highly elegant and intuitive). My intention from the beginning has also been for the framework to be scalable and high-performance and I am hopeful that the first release will deliver on this goal. So, I think it may be attractive for larger projects. So if your intention is to create the next Wikipedia and make a great contribution for the greater good, then go ahead. Please use Sendero, that is what it is for. If you want to make the next Myspace and cash in a huge profit, then be prepared to pay for licensing fees or else look somewhere else.

More details and an official license statement to follow. Any comments welcome.

Aaron
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