[Gluster-devel] GNU AGPLv3 v/s GNU GPLv3

[Vijay Bellur]

Gluster is increasingly being deployed in cloud environments where proprietary software vendors take full advantage of GNU GPLv3 license without contributing back. FSF early on warned users about the threat to software freedom from  "Software  as a Service"  (SaaS) and Cloud models. Nevertheless, Cloud and Virtual environments are clearly looking as the future of computing platform.

GNU GPLv3 has a loophole which allows hosted proprietary software to take advantage of free software without complying to the license. FSF addressed this loophole with new GNU AGPL license. As cloud gains momentum, GNU AGPL is gaining popularity gradually. We are considering GNU AGPLv3 license for Gluster 3.1 release.  We want to hear your opinion about GNU AGPL license.

You can find some relevant references about GNU AGPL over here:

http://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl.html

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/will-the-gpl-be-overtaken-by-agpl/2133

http://redmonk.com/sogrady/2009/04/15/open-source-licensing-in-a-networked-age/

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-9917947-16.html

Happy Hacking,

Gluster Team