[andreashaerter]

Default for copyleft licenses for open source or life with the consequences.

Licenses like the GNU Affero General Public License (AGPL) might prevent some corporations from using an open-source project because they do not want to release the source code of their own modifications to it. Sadly, corporate compliance often prohibits the usage of copyleft projects altogether, even if nobody plans to modify anything. Especially the legal departments of large “enterprizy” organizations often prefer software with licenses like MIT as they want it simple and “risk”-free.

But who cares? If these corporate users do not contribute back, there is simply not benefit in having them as users.

Except you do not care about open source community but about hypergrowth. This seems not to be true for this case, but the impression comes to mind that many start-ups use open source not because of freedom but as an argument for adoption in the enterprise ecosystem. They avoid choosing (A)GPLv3 licenses to facilitate easier corporate adoption without generating enough revenue, while being funded by venture capital and without getting contributions back by organization who could easily afford giving back something. Then, after being adopted, they complain.

There’s a reason why Linux (GPL licensed) is still around, growing, and making money for so many while companies behind widespread open source projects often fail financially and burning insane amounts of money. It might work out for individuals and owners when getting bought, but it hurts users and ecosystems who relied on something.