Colin Devroe - Latest Comments in Is WordPress’ licensing too strict?

Re: Is WordPress’ licensing too strict?

Owen — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 19:59:43 -0000

Indeed. There is nothing wrong with the GPL. It's very altruistic, and that's a good thing to be.

It nonetheless virtually ensures that any downstream value in the sale of a theme or plugin is lost to its original developer. Meanwhile, Habari's use of the Apache license assures freedom for both the user and for the developer.

Thanks for plugging my post, Colin. I do think this issue is an important one, even outside of Habari, for protecting the rights of artists and developers who don't dwell on these legalities.

By the way, I don't "lead" Habari, I'm just one of the guys on a management team that anyone can work to be a part of -- another important distinction between Habari and WordPress.

Re: Is WordPress’ licensing too strict?

Matt Mullenweg — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:54:07 -0000

The GPL is the most popular Open Source license in the world:

http://www.blackducksoftwar...

It's about 1771% more popular than the Apache license. Open Source seems to be doing okay.

In my opinion, the GPL is the most moral license available as well, which is why I'm such a strong advocate of it.

Re: Is WordPress’ licensing too strict?

skippy — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:24:48 -0000

glibc is released under the LGPL, which specifically permits derivative works to make use of its functionality without "tainting" the derivative works' licensing. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

GPL contains the viral licensing stipulation, and WordPress' use of the GPL license means that derivative works that are released are obligated to be licensed with a GPL-compatible license. Derivative works you make but don't release can be licensed however you want.

Re: Is WordPress’ licensing too strict?

Richard Crowley — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:01:28 -0000

I think this might be a bit of fearmongering. Those Wordpress functions used in your theme or plugin are API functions you're taking at face value, not unlike apps that use glibc on Linux or the Win32 API on Windows. Those applications are licensed separately from the platform on which they run - why is the Wordpress case any different?