3 ms·

If you're deeply concerned about who uses your software and for what purpose they do so; "open source" isn't what you want. You want a real commercial license,

If you're deeply concerned about who uses your software and for what purpose they do so; "open source" isn't what you want. You want a real commercial license, even if you're not charging money. There's nothing wrong with that, and no reason to try making "open source" attempt to conform to moral stances. I'd say that the core value that open source serves is the notion that sharing our thoughts is better than not doing so. That is enough of a stance to take. People can agree to that even in the face of differing values in other areas.

LinuxBender 4y ago
Adding to this, even a commercial license may not be sufficient in some cases. If the people doing evil things are truly evil people or organizations, it may not be feasible or even possible to take legal action against them. Some groups are effectively untouchable by the legal systems and some people are within the boundaries of governments or organizations that exemplify the concept of total corruption and hegemonic domination.
phire 4y ago
Yes. And your commercial license can still offer the source code. Unreal engine is an example of such a licence. Anyone can access the source code for free (just need to jump though a hoop of signing up of an account and agreeing to the terms and conditions). Anyone can release a game without paying unreal a cent. But it is not open source. The two major restrictions are: You can't share the source code to people who haven't agreed to the terms and conditions; And if you earn more that $1 million in revenue, you must pay epic games 5% of all additional revenue. Epic have even gone to the additional step of removing their right to revoke the license from the license agreement. They can take you to court if you don't pay, but they can't simply revoke the license.

3 ms·

If you're deeply concerned about who uses your software and for what purpose they do so; "open source" isn't what you want. You want a real commercial license,

by h2odragon 4y ago

LinuxBender 4y ago
Adding to this, even a commercial license may not be sufficient in some cases. If the people doing evil things are truly evil people or organizations, it may not be feasible or even possible to take legal action against them. Some groups are effectively untouchable by the legal systems and some people are within the boundaries of governments or organizations that exemplify the concept of total corruption and hegemonic domination.
phire 4y ago
Yes. And your commercial license can still offer the source code. Unreal engine is an example of such a licence. Anyone can access the source code for free (just need to jump though a hoop of signing up of an account and agreeing to the terms and conditions). Anyone can release a game without paying unreal a cent. But it is not open source. The two major restrictions are: You can't share the source code to people who haven't agreed to the terms and conditions; And if you earn more that $1 million in revenue, you must pay epic games 5% of all additional revenue. Epic have even gone to the additional step of removing their right to revoke the license from the license agreement. They can take you to court if you don't pay, but they can't simply revoke the license.