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by jxj 2126 days ago
"free software", "for any purpose", beautiful target. But maybe it can not be achieved in one step.

People select a license for purpose. No matter what is the purpose, the developer is free to choose, the user is free to accept or deny. If the license really brings some big hurt, people might change later.
1 comments
knorker 2126 days ago
Yup. There's nothing illegal about this private contract. I'm just saying it's a lose-lose license for both parties.

For authors: AGPL is counterproductive to its stated purpose, and will only drive away users and contributors. AGPL is not "open source" or "free software". If dual-licensed then you are essentially releasing commercial software. And that's fine. But own up to that. If not dual-licensed then pretty much every user will violate your license. So what was the license good for?

For users: There is no practical way to use AGPL software without violating the license. Everything you do with AGPL software incurs a huge legal liability. It is not open source or free software. If it's dual licensed, then pretend only the other license exists. If it's not, then pretend this software doesn't exist, and move along.

Actually, there is one way for authors to derive value from AGPL. It's not ethical, but it exists. Release your AGPL software, and wait for reports of a company using it. Then sue them. Because they are pretty much guaranteed to be in violation.

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