I'm not exactly neutral when it comes to anything remotely related to the GPL license. Personally, there's a bit of a GPL scare when I see code that's released under that license and I usually try to avoid it.
But (primarily) due to RoundCube being licensed under the GPL, I think I do know what it entails to release code using this license. In addition to that I have read a lot about the license, I even wasted spent three hours one night to listen to RMS.
In the end — the GPL just did not grow on me, or made me happy.
Open source
I am a firm believer in open source. I release code for free. Whenever I have the choice, my free contributions include the freedom to really do whatever you want with my code. Because if I did not meant it, I would either sell the code, or not share it at all.
I recently read Zed Shaw's reasoning why he believes in the [A,L]GPL and that same day I walked into yet another license discussion on PEAR's IRC channel (#[email protected]), and I felt like I need to write it all out.
The GPLs
GPL in a nutshell
- The GPL means that whenever I use code that is licensed under it in my code, my code automatically becomes GPL too.
- The GPL requires me to release the source code of the software when I give it to others [them].
- The GPL allows them to give it to other people as well, license still applies.
- (Contrary to popular believe, ) The GPL also allows me to sell software. I'm not required to give it away for free.
If you still do not understand what the above means, here's an example: Wordpress. Wordpress is GPL and therefor all plugins written for Wordpress are GPL too. I realize some people may think that there might not be too much that you can do in a plugin, but if you wanted to make money of your work (plugin), the options are pretty limited.
LGPL in a nutshell
The LGPL is basically the same as the GPL, but if I use LGPL software inside my software, my software does not become GPL.
Affero (L)GPL
Because web software is often not distributed (think of SAAS), the GPL people came up with an Affero clause.
This clause requires you to open source your changes to a software/library even if it's only accessible through the network. In plain English — if you do SAAS (Remember, plain English!), or a simple website, and do not directly distribute your source code to your customer, you will still have to open source your changes because your customers can access it anyway.
The Affero clause is currently available as AGPL, and soon as ALGPL.
Non-restrictive licensing
When I speak of non-restrictive (or liberal :-)) licenses, I think of the (new) BSD, MIT and Apache licenses. In a nutshell, they all allow you to really do whatever you want. Whatever, of course except for removing the copyright on the source code.
- They do not force you to open source your changes to the code.
- They do not force a license on your own code just because you happen to use it.
- The do not force you to release the source code to your customers.
Reading the above, one would see that these licenses are very compatible with typical business interests. They all come in handy for frameworks such as ezComponents or the Zend Framework — and many PEAR components use them as well. They really bring freedom of use the user, without imposing any duties on the user, and the best of all: the user can contribute anyway.
Impose
For a lot of people the world is black and white. You see other people benefiting from your own work hiding everywhere. And it's all too easy to find a license to impose your own beliefs on others. Because if they do not get it, there is a way to make them.
This rather simplified approach to a pretty complicated topic is easier to comprehend and therefor popular. And I can't blame anyone. Think further — religion. People who convert or find a thing for themselves easily become outspoken about and start preaching their new found happiness to others.
It's very human. If it makes you happy, you want to share.
This is of course meant with no offense to people like Zed Shaw who feel like they did not get their share of the cake (even though — Hey Zed! — a ton of people run your software (Mongrel)). I do understand Zed's point of view though. Visibility in the open source world does not pay your monthly bills. I'm not naive like that. On the other hand, there are more than a few examples from the the open source world where a company is build around an open source product and the company offers services — such as consulting and support — for said product.
The bottom line for myself is that I do not like to force people to do something. And no one does, right? (Except when the motives allow it!)
Conclusion
I believe that more people will contribute to open source because they believe in the cause. Not because some license forces them to do so. A lot of people get into open source because they use(d) open source software already and decided to contribute to the community. A lot of commercial entities fund open source development — heck, for whatever reason, even Microsoft does it.
If anything, the Affero clause will cause is to hinder the adoption rates of the software in question. And that is not just because all these licenses are written in English which requires a law degree, but because when you manage to understand them, they impose a threat on your own intellectual property.