On Wed, Sep 18, 2013 at 4:45 PM, Pirmin Braun <[email protected]> wrote:

> Am Wed, 18 Sep 2013 14:34:18 +0100
> schrieb David Chisnall <[email protected]> :
>
> > On 18 Sep 2013, at 13:57, Markus Hitter <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> > > Perhaps this distinction is too complex. Non-commercial use -> free,
> > > commercial use -> pay. Things have to be simple.
> >
> > Non-commercial use is a sticky point, especially for web apps.  For
> example, if I run a free service that runs the web app and allows anyone to
> use it, am I commercial?  What happens if I put ads on it?  What about if
> the ads are only covering the cost of hosting it?  The FSF web site has a
> lot of text about the problems with NC licenses, so I won't bother
> reiterating them.
> >
>
> I knew this would come. It's the 0,1 % of all cases that make things
> complicated.
> We just won't hunt after them. If in doubt, you're allowed. If obviously
> cheating, we'll find out. Sooner or later.
>  <https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss-gnustep>
>

How about a strictly noncommercial license, with all commercial use having
to go through your hosted subscription service?

It's still not free/open source software, and IntarS would certainly end up
in the 'non-free' section of Debian (even if accepted there), but it would
make intended use quite clear.

I do understand you have existing customers, but it might be an interesting
solution.

This mailing list, on the other hand, is probably a bad place to discuss a
business plan. As it stands, the license itself does not seem to be FLOSS
(due to the discrimination clause). This has little to do with 'radical'
approach to FLOSS; it's simply not providing end users with all freedoms.
As mentioned, free and open source licenses typically deal with
redistribution restrictions, not with use restrictions. I doubt the
discussion will get any further than this...

-- 
Ivan Vučica
[email protected]
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