[Nagiosplug-devel] [Nagios-users] Licensing of Official and 3rd Party Plugins

[Andreas Ericsson]

Holger Weiss wrote:
> * Andreas Ericsson <ae at op5.se> [2008-01-10 15:48]:
>> Holger Weiss wrote:
>>> * Thomas Guyot-Sionnest <dermoth at aei.ca> [2008-01-10 06:16]:
>>>> Incompatibilities among GPL license are only brought by "GPLvX-only"
>>>> type of licenses. Programs and libraries using "GPLvX or higher" will
>>>> always avoid compatibility problems among GPL licenses.
>>> Which is why I prefer the latter over the former, but not all people do
>>> it this way.  See the Linux kernel's license, for example.
>> It isn't really an issue for the kernel though, as it's never loaded as
>> a library.
> 
> The issue is using kernel code directly in other projects.  If this
> weren't an issue there'd be no point in using an Open Source license for
> non-library-code.
> 

True that, but 90% of the even half-generic code in the kernel has dual
licenses. Most of it is in the public domain (cryptography framework, fe).

> 
>> For the plugins it won't matter in the slightest which version is used,
>> as it isn't a library and so other programs will never have to think
>> about it.
> 
> It doesn't matter for the plugins, but authors which like to use plugin
> code in their projects would have to think about it.
> 
> I guess it's just me, but I've been bitten by license incompatibility
> issues more than once, so I'm a bit annoyed of these.

In that case, stick with "GPL, v2 or later". Change for the sake of
changing is only profitable for aspirin vendors.

-- 
Andreas Ericsson                   andreas.ericsson at op5.se
OP5 AB                             www.op5.se
Tel: +46 8-230225                  Fax: +46 8-230231