[License-discuss] Feedback about fair-code model

[Josh Berkus]

On 7/27/20 4:12 AM, Paulo Coghi - Coghi IT wrote:
> I recently discovered the fair-code model (https://faircode.io/) and I
> would like to know if it "fits" on any specific OSI approved license.
> 
> It was created by n8n's author (https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n) as a way
> to solve the long discussion taken here
> https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/issues/40 after he called his software
> "open source"

This is just a rebranding of the Commons Clause.  It is not
OSI-compliant, and cannot be made OSI-compliant.

A more accurate labeling of this licensing technique would be
"Shareware".  Shareware has a long history in this industry, and is one
way of monetizing software, and despite contempt for the label, is still
a viable model today.  It is, however, not open source.

I could go into the various reasons, both practical and moral, why open
source is superior to the shareware model, but that seems like
well-trodden ground.

-- 
Josh Berkus