Ben Caradoc-Davies wrote: > On 21/04/10 02:37, Andrea Aime wrote: >> I see no particular problem. On the contrary, by looking at the history >> of PostGIS, MapServer, GDAL I'm starting to wonder if a license such >> as the GPL is not doing GeoServer more harm than good. >> Just a doubt at the moment, and besides, it's another discussion >> altogether :-p > > I would be happy with a move to LGPL. In my view, this is a business > decision for OpenGeo. > > From the community point of view, the question should be: Does the > income from commercial licenses for GeoServer fund more development than > an expanded user and developer base would? > > Option 1: GPL plus commercial licenses (these are the current arrangements). > Result: OpenGeo sells licenses and reinvests in GeoServer development. > > Option 2: LGPL, which would let commercial derivatives use GeoServer for > free, and only have to contribute back core GeoServer changes. > Result: Increased adoption by Open Source projects and commercial users, > resulting in more sweat equity contributed back to GeoServer. How much > more? Who can say. > > So from the community point of view, the question is: which option > generates the most GeoServer development? > > From the OpenGeo point of view, the question might be, what fraction of > income do commercial licenses generate, compared to service contracts? > But I don't speak for OpenGeo, nor do I claim any business expertise. :-) > > Just my two bits. > > Kind regards, >
I like the idea of the floss exception much more than an outright move to LGPL. From an integrator standpoint, I often like having the threat of GPL to force any patches back out into the world (though it does cause us some grief). I also see the frustration uDig developers encounter of seeing the same functionality implemented over and over and never contributed back. Mark Leslie Geospatial Software Architect LISAsoft ------------------------------------------------------------- Ph: +61 2 8570 5000 Fax: +61 2 8570 5099 Mob: +61 Suite 112, Jones Bay Wharf 19-21 Pirrama Rd Pyrmont NSW 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------- LISAsoft is part of the A2end Group of Companies http://www.ardec.com.au http://www.lisasoft.com http://www.terrapages.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ Geoserver-devel mailing list Geoserver-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/geoserver-devel
