FSF Releases AGPL License For Web Services

mako writes "The Free Software Foundation has released the Affero General Public license version 3. The license is essentially the GPLv3 with an added clause that requires that source code be distributed to users that interact with the application over a network. The license effectively extends copyright to Web applications. The new AGPL will have important effects for companies that, under the GPL, have no obligation to distribute changes to users on the Web. This release adds the license to the stable of official FSF licenses and is compatible with the GPLv3."

Comments

Re:"The license extends copyright to Web apps"

[Anonymous Coward]

Normally, copyright wants nothing to do with web apps. It's like, "Oh my gosh! This PHP code is total shit! I won't have a thing to do with it. It's just dirty!". Other times it's like, "This enterprise Java app is waaaaaaaaaaaaay too over-engineered. We have factory classes for generating factory classes for generating factory classes for generating objects that wrap the native boolean datatype. Fuck this stupidity!" Then it goes home and watches TV.

So a group like the FSF will have to come along and rough up copyright a little bit. Only if copyright is legally forced to deal with the mess that are web apps will it bother to do so. Even then, I'm thinking it'll resist somewhat, since I'm pretty sure it doesn't want to have to associate with such pathetic programming.

Re:"The license extends copyright to Web apps"

[bytesex]

Factory classes generating objects ? Not likely. Surely you should know better. You meant 'interfaces', didn't you ? Factory classes generating interfaces that /might/ wrap the native boolean class. But can also provide the boolean getIsTrue() and getIsFalse() method for other objects. Very usefull class indeed. - whistles -.

Re:"The license extends copyright to Web apps"

[nuzak]

You forgot the all important isFileNotFound() method.