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diff --git a/_posts/2021-03-24-non-fsf-copyleft.md b/_posts/2021-03-24-non-fsf-copyleft.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a629788 --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2021-03-24-non-fsf-copyleft.md @@ -0,0 +1,54 @@ +--- +title: Non-FSF Copyleft Usage +--- + +The Free Software Foundation has decided they'd rather hang out with a sex pest than have an ounce of credibility, so fuck em. +Let's look at the copyleft licenses they didn't write and see how they're used. + +I'll be using the [Blue Oak Council's list of copyleft licenses](https://blueoakcouncil.org/copyleft) here, because I don't know of a good other way to find specifically copyleft licenses. +I'll be searching GitHub for `filename:LICENSE "<some snippet from the license>"` and then seeing if anything notable turns up. + +## Maximal Copyleft + +- Cryptographic Autonomy License: almost entirely cryptocurrency bullshit +- Parity Public License: maintains [its own list of users](https://paritylicense.com/), including some work from substack (original author of browserify, prominent in the node.js scene, name stolen by a shitty newsletter startup) and some Git hook manager with 22.2k stars on GitHub (although it's only Parity licensed while it's in early access, and it'll revert to MIT later on). + so there's a notable person and a notable project using this license, which is neat. +- Reciprocal Public License: well, there's "the most popular service bus for .NET", but that appears to be [basically it](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reciprocal_Public_License). + +## Network Copyleft + +- Affero GPL: fuck GNU, fuck the FSF, fuck RMS, fuck you +- Apple Public Source License: unsurprisingly, the only use I've seen is for stuff derived directly from Apple releases +- Common Public Attribution License: apparently it was invented by some startup that hasn't existed since 2012, and I could only find one nontrivial use of it +- European Union Public License: [well,](https://github.com/search?q=license%3Aeupl-1.2&type=Repositories) there's "`dig` but i rewrote it in rust" [and](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Software_using_the_European_Union_Public_Licence) there's Pi-hole (actually neat!) but that's about it. + i think being the pi-hole license (plus having a metagovernment behind it) would probably be enough to ensure its longevity. +- Non-Profit Open Software License: [GitHub can't find any usage of it!](https://github.com/search?q=filename%3ALICENSE+%22Non-Profit+Open+Software+License%22&type=code) +- Open Software License: it's got Magento (WordPress for ecommerce) and that's about it +- RealNetworks Public Source License: ehhhhh I am officially ignoring any license with a mostly-defunct vendor in the title now + +## Strong Copyleft + +- BSD Protection: nothing uses this +- CC BY-SA: that's not a software license, you can't fool me +- GPL: fuck that +- Q Public License: this name has aged poorly and i can't find use of it +- Sleepycat License: adorable! but not used by anything + +## Weak Copyleft + +- Common Development and Distribution License: apparently this is [popular with enterprisey bullshit because it started at Sun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Development_and_Distribution_License#Adoption) but it seems like it's mostly enterprisey bullshit +- Common Public License: this one's IBM's, so there's [even less usage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Software_using_the_CPL_license) +- Eclipse Public License: well, there's Eclipse, but also [a lot of other non-enterprise-bullshit (mostly Java) stuff apparently](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclipse_Public_License#Notable_projects) +- Erlang Public License: even Erlang doesn't use it anymore lol +- IBM Public License: ehhhhhhhh +- LGPL: fuck that +- Mozilla Public License: [lots of users](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozilla_Public_License#Notable_users), probably not going anywhere anytime soon +- Microsoft Reciprocal License: [not really widely used](https://github.com/search?l=&o=desc&q=license%3Ams-rl&s=stars&type=Repositories), unsurprisingly +- Sun Public License: [apparently it's the older, worse CDDL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Public_License) + +## Summary + +for maximal copyleft ("must publish all changes, even those for internal use"), [Parity](https://spdx.org/licenses/Parity-7.0.0.html) is probably the most promising future license. +for network copyleft ("must offer source to users even across a network"), the [European Union Public License](https://spdx.org/licenses/EUPL-1.2.html) is already seeing some adoption. +for "strong" copyleft ("must offer source to users even if just linking as a library"), there are no good options because the GPL has been the only game in town for ages. +for "weak" copyleft ("must offer source to users"), the [Mozilla Public License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MPL-2.0.html) looks like it has a good chance of continuing to exist and be used by actual projeccts for a nice long while. |