On Fri, May 13, 2011 at 6:55 PM, Jacob Kaplan-Moss <[email protected]> wrote: > On Fri, May 13, 2011 at 11:30 AM, Thomas Weholt <[email protected]> > wrote: >> Hmmm ... maybe, but because of the reusable app focus in django I >> think some sort of guideline regarding choice of license could be >> important. > > The problem is that license choice is one of those "holy wars" that > geeks get into -- vi/emacs, mac/windows/linux, etc. etc. etc. Only > it's worse because you've got a bunch of laypeople trying to interpret > law, and we developers tend to fail rather spectacularly when trying > to interpret the law. > > So any "official" advice anyone gave would just be a flashpoint for > flamewars, and I don't think anyone's brave enough to wade into this > particular problem. I'm certainly not. > > I would like to make a few important points, though: > > First, if you have a license you want (or need) to use: use it. Don't > let anyone tell you otherwise. It's *YOUR* software, and *YOU* get to > choose how to license it. I'd hope that you're making an educated > choice, but even if you're picking by throwing darts that's still your > prerogative. > > That said, you do need to understand that licenses are more than just > legal terms of use. They're also important community signifiers. What > do I mean by "signifier"? Well, imagine you're in a meeting and > someone you don't know walks in wearing a suit. You'll have an > immediate first impression ("ah, here's a business guy") that'd differ > from seeing someone walk in wearing sandals and at-shirt ("hey, who's > the new developer?") > > Well, licenses do that, too. A permissive, BSD-ish license sends a > message that's quite a bit different from the one sent by a > strong-copyleft GPL-ish license. It's hard to articulate just what > these messages are -- I have strong feelings on the matter so I can't > really talk dispassionately. > > But I can point out that one of the most important aspects of this > message is one of membership and involvement. Again, think about the > meeting example: if you were going to attend a meeting with a bunch of > developers would you wear a suit? Maybe you would, but you'd probably > know they'd instantly peg you as an outsider. This could be useful -- > if you're trying to buy a startup, you probably *want* to look > important and successful. But either way you probably know your > clothes send signifiers about how you see yourself in relation to the > community. > > Again, licenses to that, too. In the Python and Django world, > permissive licenses are the norm. Python's licensed under a permissive > license (it's a weird one for historical purposes, but it's most like > the Apache license I think). Django's licensed under one of the most > permissive licenses available (the BSD license). Many Python projects, > and most Django apps, are BSD or MIT licensed. This means that putting > a GPL-licensed Django app is going to immediately stick out as > something a bit different. > > I'm *NOT* saying that you should be choosing a license just to "fit > in"! Again, it's *YOUR* choice. The point I'm making is that the > social messages your license sends can be just as important as the > legal rights those license grant. In many cases, the social factors > can be more important than the legal ones. > > Good luck, I hope I've not confused things even more for you! > > Jacob
No, you're not confusing me at all - you're making things very clear and this is exactly what I wanted; to shed some light on what difference choosing one license over another can make to your project. And the point you're making about the non-legal isssues are just as important for me as I want to "use" the community to make my own software better. Hmmm ... as one of those copylefters it's somewhat of a bitter pill to swallow not to use the GPL. Still - I'm a django/python-user and if I want to succeed and increase my userbase I might have to put the thinking and philosophy that got me into linux and open source initially aside and use a license most compatible with the framework and community I want to contribute to. Thanks Jacob, this was very enlightening. Thomas -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Django users" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/django-users?hl=en.
