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I don't think anyone disputes rewarding individuals for software they provide to their patrons. I hope you prosper! But "open source to those who pay" is quite
by sshine 2y ago
I don't think anyone disputes rewarding individuals for software they provide to their patrons. I hope you prosper!
But "open source to those who pay" is quite a stretch of the definition.
If you check Open Source Initiative's list of approved licenses, you won't find anything that fits this definition:
https://opensource.org/licenses https://opensource.org/licenses
The closest I know to what you're describing is Business Source License (BSL):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Source_License https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Source_License
> The Business Source License (SPDX id BUSL) is a software license which publishes source code but limits the right to use the software to certain classes of users. The BUSL is not an open-source license, but it is source-available license that also mandates an eventual transition to an open-source license. This characteristic has been described as a compromise between traditional proprietary licenses and open source.
- Spivak 2y agoI think this confuses "software is open source" like it's some intrinsic property of the software, and "if you pay me I will sell you the software under an OSS license which is totally fine. It's a bit of an honor system because is allowed to just publish it for anyone to download for free but it's absolutely something you can do.
- MrKai77 2y agoThis did not occur to me, thanks for bringing this to my attention! I will definitely look into this! I guess Luminare may end up being fully open-sourced.
- sshine 2y agoThis fits even more with the Wikipedia definition of BSL. Just call it what it is, there are no feel-good points for advertising it as something it isn't. People are ambivalent about BSL licenses because of the way companies use them to step back from their previous commitment to open source. They're still an improvement over closed-source licenses.
- fnord123 2y agoYou can sell GPL software. But the purchasers can then turn around and distribute it: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#DoesTheGPLAllowMoney https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#DoesTheGPLAllowMon...
- spooneybarger 2y agoI don't know if it would work for you, but dual licensing GPL software is a common way folks generate money to support their work.