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hannesg / uri_template

A URI template library for ruby.

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Affero GPLv3 prevents use in many cases

bhollis opened this issue · comments

commented

I just saw that this library is using the Affero GPLv3 license. That license makes this library unsuitable for use except in very narrow situations (when combined into a compatibly-licensed application that also includes functionality to serve the source code of this library to users).

Ruby code is generally licensed with a more permissive license like MIT, which would not force GPLv3 terms on users of that license.

commented

Hi bhollis

I actually prefer free software over open software and therefore chose GPL deliberately. However, I don't want to keep people from using the software if they have good intents. Do you have a specific usecase?

commented

My intention was to use it as part of the Middleman blog plugin: https://github.com/middleman/middleman-blog, but I don't want to apply the terms of the AGPLv3 to my MIT-licensed software (or to Middleman itself, which is also MIT). Middleman is used in commercial environments where GPLv3 is unacceptable.

commented

Note that this is no longer a huge deal as I have already switched my code to use addressable, but I wanted to file this issue just to make you aware that AGPLv3 licensing is in conflict with most Ruby library/application licenses.

commented

I recently ran into the AGPLv3 licensing of this gem. I would love to see the license changed to something better-aligned with the Rubygems community at large.

We're using Hyperclient in some batch-processing tasks that interact with an API we've built. Hyperclient is MIT-licensed software, but it carries a dependency on uri_template. While it seems like we should be able to use uri_template after reading through the AGPLv3 text and various interpretations (we're not creating a derivative work, only using the library via its defined API), the license doesn't lend the kind of confidence I'm accustomed to from the Ruby license (2-clause BSD) or MIT license.

We'd love to continue using it, but may not be able to on account of others' feelings about the license.

commented

Hi All

I'm a bit sad about this. Having a gem with MIT licence depending on a non-MIT gem is certainly a strange state. While I still like the AGPL, I've changed the licence to MIT with release 0.7.0 .

Have fun using it :)