4 ms·

Do theme authors without the dual license make less money? I don't have the data on that, but it would be interesting to know. I don't think a split license act

by pknight 14y ago

Do theme authors without the dual license make less money? I don't have the data on that, but it would be interesting to know. I don't think a split license actually makes a positive difference on the bottom line over full GPL on both php and js/css/etc. I find Envato's licenses very limiting and authors have to play by their rules to be in their market place. However, I'm not against the split licensing at all, just wish authors could more freely choose under what terms to sell their works, such as pricing and what the terms are for installing a design on multiple sites.

shawnc 14y ago
Aren't we witnessing the same thing by the Wordpress Foundation? Forcing authors to play by their rules in order to be in their marketplace?
- pknight 14y ago
  I don't think it's the same thing as the foundation is operating under the motivation to protect the freedoms on which the platform depends and thrives. Envato has multiple motivations, remaining the biggest market place being a big one and they put a lot of restrictions under which terms authors can distribute their works. That being said I don't agree with punishing Envato authors/users in the way the Foundation's seems to right now.
nhangen 14y ago
I don't know if they do or not, but I don't think a developer should feel bad for doing what he can to ensure his work isn't stolen. If I wanted to, I could raid the WP theme and plugin repo and re-sell all of them. Since I'm a developer, I could offer support that exceeds the level most get with free themes/plugins and provide value. I don't because I have ethical boundaries, but there are plenty that do not.
- pknight 14y ago
  I'm not against split licensing, I think it's a fair for an author to decide. Envato makes that decision for its authors, I think that's unfair to authors. Having said that, I don't buy into to the idea that Envato's licensing protects author's works, at least not for WordPress themes & plugins - if there's data to support the contrary, that would be interesting to find out. The reason I think this it is not the case is that there are outfits excelling with their business doing everything GPL. As far as I know there are no companies that have regretted switching to pure GPL in the WP space. Secondly, the reality of the fact is that even with restrictive licenses, trademarks and lawyers in place it's impossible to prevent people from copying/stealing/etc. What does work is having a community that cares about principles and understands why they are important which is why I think the foundation believes these kinds of positions are necessary even if they draw harsh lines. (I do not agree with banning/excluding/or putting authors needlessly in bad graces with the community as they are now though)
  - nhangen 14y ago
    The fact that it (authors making less via GPL) hasn't happened doesn't make it a non-issue. It just means it hasn't happened yet. I agree it's impossible to prevent, but any rational individual will try their best to stop it until the work > return. I think the 'community' is a straw man in this case.

by pknight 14y ago

shawnc 14y ago

Aren't we witnessing the same thing by the Wordpress Foundation? Forcing authors to play by their rules in order to be in their marketplace?

pknight 14y ago
I don't think it's the same thing as the foundation is operating under the motivation to protect the freedoms on which the platform depends and thrives. Envato has multiple motivations, remaining the biggest market place being a big one and they put a lot of restrictions under which terms authors can distribute their works. That being said I don't agree with punishing Envato authors/users in the way the Foundation's seems to right now.

nhangen 14y ago

I don't know if they do or not, but I don't think a developer should feel bad for doing what he can to ensure his work isn't stolen. If I wanted to, I could raid the WP theme and plugin repo and re-sell all of them. Since I'm a developer, I could offer support that exceeds the level most get with free themes/plugins and provide value. I don't because I have ethical boundaries, but there are plenty that do not.

pknight 14y ago
I'm not against split licensing, I think it's a fair for an author to decide. Envato makes that decision for its authors, I think that's unfair to authors. Having said that, I don't buy into to the idea that Envato's licensing protects author's works, at least not for WordPress themes & plugins - if there's data to support the contrary, that would be interesting to find out. The reason I think this it is not the case is that there are outfits excelling with their business doing everything GPL. As far as I know there are no companies that have regretted switching to pure GPL in the WP space. Secondly, the reality of the fact is that even with restrictive licenses, trademarks and lawyers in place it's impossible to prevent people from copying/stealing/etc. What does work is having a community that cares about principles and understands why they are important which is why I think the foundation believes these kinds of positions are necessary even if they draw harsh lines. (I do not agree with banning/excluding/or putting authors needlessly in bad graces with the community as they are now though)
- nhangen 14y ago
  The fact that it (authors making less via GPL) hasn't happened doesn't make it a non-issue. It just means it hasn't happened yet. I agree it's impossible to prevent, but any rational individual will try their best to stop it until the work > return. I think the 'community' is a straw man in this case.