[Ilohamail-users] license change proposal

[Ryo C. <ry...@il...>]

I am contemplating changing the license under which IlohaMail is
distributed, from GPL to the Open Software License 2.0
(http://rosenlaw.com/osl2.0.html).  The Open Software License 1.0 has
been approved by the Open Source Initiative, and 2.0 will most likely be
approved shortly.

The major difference between the current license and the OSL is that,
under the OSL, deployment of software like IlohaMail is treated the same
way distribution of binaries is treated in compiled software.  This
means all end-users of IlohaMail will have access to the source code of
the particular installation they're using, unless an alternative
license is arranged by the host.  Bottom line is, nothing would change
unless you have objections to your users having access to the IlohaMail
source code you've deployed.

The problem I have with GPL is that it doesn't apply fully to web-base
apps like IlohaMail that don't have binary distributions.  If an
organization were to distribute a modified version of a GPL'd desktop
email client for use by its users, they would be required to distribute
the source code as well.  However, under GPL, when an organization
deploys a modified version of IlohaMail, they're not required to be
accountable for the changes they make.  Users of modified versions of
IlohaMail will have no way of verifying the integrety or quality of the
software they're using, which I believe runs counter to the spirit of
open source.  There's also nothing preventing organizations from
stripping away any mention of IlohaMail from the interface before
deployment, essentially taking away any credit to the project.

The OSL does not require that organizations release source code publicly;
it's only the users of that particular installation that have rights to
access the code.  If I do switch licenses, I will add a feature in
IlohaMail that will allow users to access the actual source code being
used, from within the interface (i.e. you won't have to put together a
distribution).  Also, the license will only apply to include/*.inc,
source/*.php, and lang/*.inc, so all other files (i.e. language modules,
config files, themes) will be exhempt from the license.  For
organizations that wish to deploy IlohaMail but would prefer not to
release proprietary modifications, a separate licensing deal will be
available.

Right now, this is just an idea that I have, and is not a final decision.
 I'm sending this out to the mailing lists to see what people think, so
if you have any opinion on this, please let me know.

Ryo