What if an separate system connects to its API's and does neat stuff, since none of the sipx code, no matter where it exists is touched, I'm guessing that would not be covered. Correct?
On Thu, Mar 3, 2011 at 3:13 PM, Nathaniel Watkins < [email protected]> wrote: > Assuming I’m not missing some evil plot to take over the world…makes > sense to me. > > > > How does this scenario play out: > > > > I make code changes that are not well thought out and cause instability, > but I still like it – am I required to submit code changes? How is this > enforced – or is it just legal mumbo jumbo so that someone can’t take > sipXecs - improve upon it, get rich, etc, etc. (or if they do, there is > legal recourse). > > > > What I’m getting at, does this actually change anything moving forward or > is it just a way to ensure good code gets contributed back and people don’t > modify sipXecs and create an unfair advantage over other users/contributors? > > > > I don’t see any problems with this – but I also don’t have any intention of > modifying the source code… > > > > I think that some users are still weary of the open source version of > sipXecs…and seeing licensing changes probably raises a few red flags… > > > > > > *From:* [email protected] [mailto: > [email protected]] *On Behalf Of *Martin Steinmann > *Sent:* Thursday, March 03, 2011 2:06 PM > *To:* 'Discussion list for users of sipXecs software' > *Subject:* [sipx-users] sipXecs open source licensing > > > > In early 2004 when we first created SIPfoundry cloud computing and Software > as a Service (SaaS) were not yet ubiquitous trends. Software was sold and > distributed and then run by the enterprise in a data center or on a > computer. From the very beginning we insisted on a reciprocal open source > license for sipXecs, but also wanted to make sure we picked a widely used > license with no additional strings attached. The L-GPL license has served > us well over the years and it fulfilled all the criteria to conduct a > successful and attractive open source project. However, the IT landscape > has changed significantly over the last couple of years and in a world of > cloud services, hosting, and SaaS, the L-GPL license no longer provides the > necessary protections. The main reason is that the requirements imposed by > the L-GPL on end users only apply if the software is actually distributed. > If it is accessed over a network, then distribution does not occur and > therefore the reciprocity requirement no longer applies. This means that > the sipXecs project can no longer enforce changes made by others to flow > back to the project. We believe that this increasingly threatens the > project as it creates an unfair imbalance between those who participate and > contribute back and those who just profit from the work of others. > > > > To remedy this situation the Free Software Foundation (FSF) created a new > license called AGPL in 2007 that was adopted by the Open Source Initiative > (OSI) in March 2008. Here is what the FSF has to say about this: > > > > *“The GNU Affero General Public License is a free, copyleft license for > software and other kinds of works, specifically designed to ensure > cooperation with the community in the case of network server software.* > > *Our General Public Licenses are designed to make sure that you have the > freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge for them if you > wish), that you receive source code or can get it if you want it, that you > can change the software or use pieces of it in new free programs, and that > you know you can do these things.* > > *Developers that use our General Public Licenses protect your rights with > two steps: (1) assert copyright on the software, and (2) offer you this > License which gives you legal permission to copy, distribute and/or modify > the software.* > > *A secondary benefit of defending all users' freedom is that improvements > made in alternate versions of the program, if they receive widespread use, > become available for other developers to incorporate. Many developers of > free software are heartened and encouraged by the resulting cooperation. > However, in the case of software used on network servers, this result may > fail to come about. The GNU General Public License permits making a modified > version and letting the public access it on a server without ever releasing > its source code to the public.* > > *The GNU Affero General Public License is designed specifically to ensure > that, in such cases, the modified source code becomes available to the > community. It requires the operator of a network server to provide the > source code of the modified version running there to the users of that > server. Therefore, public use of a modified version, on a publicly > accessible server, gives the public access to the source code of the > modified version.”* > > How exactly will this work? > > 1. We are not changing the license of any works that were contributed by > others. In particular, all files marked with copyrights from Pingtel, > Nortel, and Avaya remain under their stated license, which is L-GPL > > 2. All contributions made by eZuce and for which eZuce holds copyright > are licensed or re-licensed under AGPL version 3 or newer. The licenses > L-GPL, GPL and AGPL version 3 are compatible licenses that allow linking and > combining code. > > 3. The resulting license for the derivative work then becomes AGPL and > SIPfoundry will license sipXecs under its copyright for the derivative work > under the AGPL v3 license. > > What does this mean for you? > > > > 1. If you are a user of sipXecs and use it without modifying the source, > this change likely will mean that more contributions will flow back to the > sipXecs project and you will see an accelerated roadmap. The AGPL license > does not impose any additional restrictions on how you can use sipXecs. > > 2. If you are a developer and provide occasional patches, we will > continue to accept these patches under the L-GPL license. > > 3. If you are a company making changes to sipXecs or enhancing it for > your purposes and you have not given back all of these changes yet because > you are offering a hosted service, this change will mean that you have to > comply with the terms of the AGPL license going forward > > > > Why are we doing this now? > > > > AGPL is finding more and more adoption in parallel with the adoption and > raise of cloud services. The FSF recommends the AGPL license to be the > preferred open source license for software that will run over a network, > which is increasingly the case for sipXecs. With SIPfoundry no longer being > sponsored by a large company we depend on fair and equitable collaboration > between all the interested parties. The change to AGPL re-establishes this > balance and we not only hope you would understand this, but embrace this > change enthusiastically as a statement of strengths of the sipXecs project > and our intent and commitment to the open source model. > > > > If you have any specific questions concerning this change, now would be a > good time to speak up. > > ------------------------------ > This message and any files transmitted with it are intended only for the > individual(s) or entity named. If you are not the intended individual(s) or > entity named you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, > distribution or reliance upon its contents is strictly prohibited. If you > have received this in error, please notify the sender, delete the original, > and destroy all copies. Email transmissions cannot be guaranteed to be > secure or error-free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, > destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. Garrett County > Government therefore does not accept any liability for any errors or > omissions in the contents of this message, which arise as a result of email > transmission. > > > Garrett County Government, > 203 South Fourth Street, Courthouse, Oakland, Maryland 21550 > www.garrettcounty.org > > _______________________________________________ > sipx-users mailing list > [email protected] > List Archive: http://list.sipfoundry.org/archive/sipx-users/ > -- ====================== Tony Graziano, Manager Telephone: 434.984.8430 sip: [email protected] Fax: 434.326.5325 Email: [email protected] LAN/Telephony/Security and Control Systems Helpdesk: Telephone: 434.984.8426 sip: [email protected] Helpdesk Contract Customers: http://support.myitdepartment.net <http://support.myitdepartment.net>Blog: http://blog.myitdepartment.net Linked-In Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/tony-graziano/14/4a6/7a4
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