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Just to be clear, the AGPL still allows a company to take the the software as-is, without any modification whatsoever, and run it for their customers as a hoste

Just to be clear, the AGPL still allows a company to take the the software as-is, without any modification whatsoever, and run it for their customers as a hosted service, right? That's why MongoDB had to add a new clause into the AGPL and make the SSPL? Why didn't Plausible go straight to SSPL?

firepoet 6y ago
I don't know why, but you might find this interesting: https://hub.packtpub.com/mongodb-withdraws-controversial-server-side-public-license-from-the-open-source-initiatives-approval-process/ https://hub.packtpub.com/mongodb-withdraws-controversial-ser...
LaGrange 6y ago
GPLv3 has an explicit permission to link with AGPL, but not SSPL - that means that if you're using SSPL, you can't link it with any GPL code.
jlgaddis 6y ago
> ... the AGPL still allows a company to take the the software as-is, without any modification whatsoever, and run it for their customers as a hosted service, right? Yes. In fact, they are even free to take the software, modify it, and run it for their customers as a hosted service. The key difference, however, is that the license requires that they must also let their user's download the source code of their version. -- In "Why the Affero GPL" [0], the FSF specifically mentions: > The GNU Affero GPL does not address the problem of Service as a Software Substitute (SaaSS). (Here, "Service as a Software Substitute" is the FSF's term for what the rest of the world refers to as "Software as a Service". According to the FSF, it "defines the bad practice more clearly and says what is bad about it.") Another of the FSF's articles, "Who does that server really serve?" [1], explains the problems with SaaS with regard to open-source software. -- [0]: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/why-affero-gpl.html https://www.gnu.org/licenses/why-affero-gpl.html [1]: https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/who-does-that-server-really-serve.html https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/who-does-that-server-really-s...
orlandohill 6y ago
The Polyform Project's Shield and Perimeter licenses would have been better choices if they had wanted to stop other companies from selling hosted versions of Plausible. https://polyformproject.org/licenses/ https://polyformproject.org/licenses/

firepoet 6y ago

I don't know why, but you might find this interesting: https://hub.packtpub.com/mongodb-withdraws-controversial-server-side-public-license-from-the-open-source-initiatives-approval-process/ https://hub.packtpub.com/mongodb-withdraws-controversial-ser...

LaGrange 6y ago

GPLv3 has an explicit permission to link with AGPL, but not SSPL - that means that if you're using SSPL, you can't link it with any GPL code.

jlgaddis 6y ago

> ... the AGPL still allows a company to take the the software as-is, without any modification whatsoever, and run it for their customers as a hosted service, right? Yes. In fact, they are even free to take the software, modify it, and run it for their customers as a hosted service. The key difference, however, is that the license requires that they must also let their user's download the source code of their version. -- In "Why the Affero GPL" [0], the FSF specifically mentions: > The GNU Affero GPL does not address the problem of Service as a Software Substitute (SaaSS). (Here, "Service as a Software Substitute" is the FSF's term for what the rest of the world refers to as "Software as a Service". According to the FSF, it "defines the bad practice more clearly and says what is bad about it.") Another of the FSF's articles, "Who does that server really serve?" [1], explains the problems with SaaS with regard to open-source software. -- [0]: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/why-affero-gpl.html https://www.gnu.org/licenses/why-affero-gpl.html [1]: https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/who-does-that-server-really-serve.html https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/who-does-that-server-really-s...

orlandohill 6y ago

The Polyform Project's Shield and Perimeter licenses would have been better choices if they had wanted to stop other companies from selling hosted versions of Plausible. https://polyformproject.org/licenses/ https://polyformproject.org/licenses/