Best of Licensing — 2024

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Article
JetBrains·2y
WebStorm and Rider Are Now Free for Non-Commercial Use
JetBrains announced that WebStorm and Rider are now free for non-commercial use, including activities like learning, open-source project development, content creation, and hobby development. This initiative aims to make JetBrains IDEs more accessible and lower the barrier for non-commercial developers. Existing commercial licenses remain unchanged, and users can enjoy a full-featured IDE under the new non-commercial license type, with the only limitation being a different version of the 'Code With Me' feature. Anonymous usage statistics will be collected to help improve the products.
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Article
Lobsters·2y
I Was Wrong About Open Source
The author originally opposed making their project, Yaak, open source due to past burnout with OSS. After receiving constructive criticism from the open-source community about the potential benefits, they decided to make Yaak open source under the MIT license but restricted contributions mainly to bug fixes, inspired by models like SQLite and Litestream.
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Article
David Heinemeier Hansson·2y
Automattic is doing open source dirty
Automattic is demanding 8% of WP Engine's revenues, which is seen as a violation of open source principles and the GPL license. This move has potential negative implications for the broader open source community. The GPL license usually includes provisions for no warranty and sometimes requires modifications to be open source, but it does not support arbitrary financial demands. The expectation of financial contributions without clear legal backing undermines the clarity and certainty of open source licenses.
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elastic·2y
Elasticsearch is open source, again
Elasticsearch and Kibana are now open source again with the addition of the AGPL license option. Elastic believes this move will reduce confusion and strengthen their open-source commitment. The decision comes three years after changing the license due to issues with AWS, which ultimately resolved market confusion and bolstered the AWS partnership. Existing licenses (ELv2 and SSPL) remain in place, providing more choices for users.
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Article
xkcd·2y
xkcd: Ravioli-Shaped Objects
The post discusses the licensing terms for xkcd comics, which are shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License, allowing copying and sharing but not selling.
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Article
Lobsters·2y
BitKeeper, Linux, and licensing disputes: How Linus wrote Git in 14 days
Linus wrote Git as an alternative to the existing version control tools, BitKeeper was the tool of choice before Git. Linus disliked CVS and Subversion due to their centralized nature. The development of Git was influenced by BitKeeper and aimed to provide a better solution for managing the Linux kernel.
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Article
xkcd·2y
xkcd: Arizona Chess
The post mentions that the xkcd comic titled 'Arizona Chess' is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License, allowing free copying and sharing for non-commercial purposes.
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Article
Lobsters·2y
Forgejo is now copyleft, just like Git
Forgejo has changed its license to a Copyleft license to align with its core values and facilitate the reuse of other copyleft software. This change aims to ensure legal compliance and grant more freedoms to users. Starting from version 9.0, Forgejo will be under the GPL v3+ license. The updates aim to guarantee the software remains free and independent, managed through a transparent governance process.
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Article
InfoWorld·2y
The open source community strikes back
The power of the open source community is demonstrated by recent forks of Redis and Terraform, showing resistance to the trend of companies shifting from open source licensing to more restrictive models for profitability. Initially, open source aimed to align with free market benefits to gain corporate acceptance. However, instances like Redis' and HashiCorp's license changes have sparked grassroots actions, including the creation of fully open source forks like Valkey and OpenTofu. This movement underscores that open source is driven by community principles rather than business models.
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Article
Hacker News·2y
Please Stop Inventing New Software Licences
Creating new software licences can be problematic for open-source projects by adding confusion and barriers for potential contributors. The author discusses their experience with Cyph's proprietary licence and the complications it introduced, ultimately discouraging them from contributing. Adhering to existing OSI Approved Licences can foster a more welcoming community for contributors.
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Video
Dreams of Code·2y
ElasticSearch returning to open source is a big deal.
ElasticSearch has announced a return to open source, transitioning to the AGPL license. This move reverses their 2021 decision to adopt a dual license model due to concerns about AWS's business practices. The shift signals a potential end to the recent trend of companies moving away from open source and could indicate a market shift. Despite positive sentiments from open-source enthusiasts, the company's stock has dropped by 25% in after-hours trading.
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Hacker News·2y
GitButler is now Fair Source
GitButler has made its client source code publicly available on GitHub under the new Functional Source License, which features a non-compete clause and transitions to the MIT license after two years. This aligns with the new 'Fair Source' movement designed to balance openness with business protection, offering an alternative for companies traditionally opposed to open source.
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Video
Theo - t3․gg·1y
This VS Code theme is threatening people?
The creator of the Material Theme for VS Code, Matia, has accused Zed of promoting the violation of open source licenses. This developer has been criticized for attempting to force others to follow modified licenses and squeezing money out of an old open-source project. The situation escalated as the original repository's history seemed to be altered, and the theme, which was previously under an Apache license, now has different licensing terms that restrict its use. A separate developer community is now looking to continue the theme under its original open-source terms.
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Article
xkcd·2y
xkcd: RNAWorld
xkcd: RNAWorld is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License, allowing free copying and sharing of the comics, but prohibiting commercial use.
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Article
xkcd·1y
xkcd: Lasering Incidents
This post explains that xkcd comics are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License, allowing free copying and sharing with the restriction against selling them.
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Article
xkcd·1y
xkcd: The Maritime Approximation
The post introduces an xkcd comic titled 'The Maritime Approximation' licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5. This allows for copying and sharing the comic, but not for commercial use. More details are available through the provided link.
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Article
xkcd·1y
xkcd: Exclusion Principle
The post explains that xkcd comics are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License, which allows for copying and sharing, but not selling. More details about the license are provided.
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Article
WP Tavern·2y
WordPress.org Releases New ‘Secure Custom Fields’ Plugin With ACF Pro Features
WordPress.org has released the 'Secure Custom Fields' plugin with features similar to ACF Pro, following a dispute between Automattic and WP Engine over the ACF plugin. This new plugin, now available in the Plugin Repository, has sparked controversy among developers, with accusations of it being a 'nulled' version of the original ACF Pro plugin. Prominent voices in the community have criticized Automattic's actions. The preliminary injunction hearing for the case is scheduled for later today.
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Article
selfh.st·2y
The Self-Host Cast, Episode 4: Alex Tran and Zack Pollard (Immich)
In this episode, the host engages in a casual discussion with Alex Tran and Zack Pollard from the Immich development team. They delve into topics like self-hosting, FUTO, and licensing, providing insights into the world of self-hosted projects and the unique benefits and challenges they present.
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Godot·2y
About Official Console Ports Blog Post
The Godot Foundation has decided not to provide official console ports due to legal liability issues, disproportionate costs, and the need to adhere to open-source licensing principles. The foundation's commitment to Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) and the MIT license prevents them from taking on the liability required by console vendors. Unofficial vendors, however, are available for developers needing console porting services.
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JetBrains·2y
RustRover Is Released and Includes a Free Non-Commercial Option
RustRover is a new feature-rich Rust IDE released by JetBrains. It includes a free non-commercial option with a new licensing model. Support for the Rust plugin is included in IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate, but a commercial license or separate purchase is required for CLion.
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Article
xkcd·1y
xkcd: METAR
xkcd comics are available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License, allowing for free copying and sharing of the comics with certain restrictions, primarily non-commercial use. More details can be found on the license terms.
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