Petition for Aegir CMS license change

POZNAN, ESPOO, Nov 29th 2002

Members of the Aegir CMS community have launched a petition calling for the project to transition from its current HKLC Nadmin Studio Interface License to a more standard Open Source license such as the GPL or LGPL.

Current Licensing Situation

Aegir CMS is currently licensed under the HKLC Nadmin Studio Interface License, which is derived from the Artistic License with additional restrictions on commercial services in certain countries. While this license allows for modification and distribution of the code, some community members feel that the restrictions limit the growth and adoption of the project.

The underlying Midgard application server on which Aegir CMS is built is licensed under the LGPL (GNU Lesser General Public License).

Community Concerns

The petition raises several points:

  • Compatibility: The current license may create confusion about compatibility with other Open Source projects
  • Adoption barriers: Some organizations have policies that only allow use of software under OSI-approved licenses
  • Community growth: Standard Open Source licenses like GPL/LGPL are better understood and may encourage more contributions
  • Commercial use: The restrictions on commercial services in certain countries create uncertainty for businesses
  • License complexity: The custom license requires legal review by organizations considering adoption

Arguments for Current License

The current license was chosen to:

  • Protect the quality of commercial implementations through approved partners
  • Provide a sustainable business model for the original developers
  • Balance open access to the code with commercial considerations
  • Include a clause that transitions the project to GPL if the copyright holder becomes insolvent

The Petition

The community petition asks Linux Center (HK) Ltd, the copyright holder, to consider relicensing Aegir CMS under either:

  • GNU General Public License (GPL) v2 or later
  • GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL)
  • Another OSI-approved Open Source license

Community Discussion

This topic has generated significant discussion on the nadmin-dev mailing list. Community members are encouraged to participate in the discussion and share their perspectives on licensing.

Key Discussion Points

  • Impact on commercial adoption and service providers
  • Effects on community contributions and project growth
  • Compatibility with other Open Source CMSs and tools
  • Sustainability models under different licenses
  • Timeline and process for any potential license change

Copyright Holder Response

Linux Center (HK) Ltd has acknowledged the petition and indicated they are reviewing the community feedback. They have stated that any license change would need to carefully consider the impact on existing users, commercial partners, and the long-term sustainability of the project.

Next Steps

The discussion is ongoing. Community members who wish to provide input can:

We will provide updates as the situation develops.

More Information

For more details about the current licensing terms, please see the Licensing page.