On Sun, Feb 8, 2015 at 9:04 PM, Rob Lanphier <ro...@wikimedia.org> wrote:
> > This is virtually identical to how the old MPL multi-licensing > boilerplate is worded: > https://www.mozilla.org/MPL/boilerplate-1.1/ > > ...which is widely considered sufficient for GPL compatibility. > Not sure exactly what you mean. The MPL is compatible with both GPL 2.0 and 3.0. What I'm saying is that GPLv2 to GPLv3 is a one-way direction. Once code is licensed under v3, you cannot go back to v2. The Apache license is only compatible with v3, and code under v2 cannot be combined with Apache code, so the only way to add in Apache code to a GPL project is if the entire project is v3. > My main point about not thinking too hard about GPLv3 specifically is > because I'm generally a little skeptical about GPL's general > applicability to our use case. > [...] > > Please assume good faith. > > There is absolutely no intention by the WMF to make our software > proprietary. The only reason we'd entertain a switch to a more > permissive license is as a means of collaborating with entities > (companies, individuals, and organizations) who might steer clear of > GPL software but otherwise be good open source collaborators out of > enlightened self interest. I will assume good faith for the WMF. I was just making a quick jab; I know the WMF is not going to make MediaWiki proprietary. However, I will not assume good faith for every other software company out there that may take MediaWiki, modify it or improve it in some way, and then begin selling it as proprietary software. It's nice to think the world is an ideal place where everybody shares their source code, but unfortunately we are not living in the ideal, and in fact that is the entire reason the GPL was written in the first place: in response to companies acting in bad faith. *-- * *Tyler Romeo* Stevens Institute of Technology, Class of 2016 Major in Computer Science _______________________________________________ Wikitech-l mailing list Wikitech-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikitech-l
