openerp-community team mailing list archive

[Raphael Valyi <rvalyi@xxxxxxxxx>]

Fabien,

sorry, to comment again:


> Yes, may be I should explain this mistake of mine.
>
> When I announced this, we found a solution that:
>  - is compatible with AGPL
>

Sorry, but I think you are playing on words here: private modules are not
compatibles with many strict AGPL modules we have in the ecosystem. A few
ones that come to mind: the magento connector, the Brazilian and the
Italian localization and many others. Let me recall that those aren't AGPL
by accident, they are AGPL because it was the standard licensing of OpenERP
those last 3 years. Many times, copyrights are all mixed and there is no way
back.


>  - while NOT being a dual licence
>

Again, playing on words I think: creating incompatibilities and permission
against money is certainly a double license, even if it's hidden as simple
option.


>  - allows customer to not redistribute what they do like in GPL
>

Ok if we are clear on the SaaS, which is not the case today, else for me
this could be only an excuse to do the move.

>
> [...]
>
> Please note that we tried to discuss this with the community and
> partners but it became a public flamewar even before having explained
> the things properly. Usual activists created big FUD around something
> not clearly explained which was very bad. So we decided to make things
> very clear before communicating more on this topic. That's why we
> launched with the FAQ and the communication email to explain everything.
>

Sorry, but this is a personal version.
In fact you put like for a whole week your new license WITHOUT even telling
private modules were incompatible with the strict AGPL modules of the
ecosystem that in large part make OpenERP richness.


I think this is well related here:
http://www.qmuxs.com/version2beta/2011/a-new-openerp-product-and-license/

So facts are:
this is ONLY AFTER we the bad activists have been making some noise on
Twitter (after having been censored or whatever feature you called on
partner lists and ignored in private mails) and after nearly a week that
good OpenERP SA gently started admitting in small letters 50% of the problem
that is introduced with this license. You first started admitting discretely
in a half tweet, then finally decided yourself to finally make it public but
very discrete.
For reference, it's now buried today in the middle of the FAQ:
"If I use OpenERP Enterprise, do I have to publish the source code of the
modules I make?"
-> "Not for private modules, as long as you:

   - have a valid OpenERP Enterprise contract.
   - only use modules available under the "AGPL + Private Use" license ;"


Notice how subtle that is in contrast to the big "buy" button that suggest
instead "pay us a beer and feel free to rape the whole eco-system to meet
your business requirements, whatever they are".

So please don't make us look the bad guys, you OpenERP SA have been ignoring
a large part of the issue you introduced until you did something in response
to the noise we have been forced to do. What else could we do as you didn't
move after our private emails and call attempts? What else than public
debate would you expect after private debate has been censored from the
partner lists?

I even have a very personal question:

did you guys at OpenERP SA anticipated those 2 issues:
1) incompatibility between AGPL modules and private modules?
2) how private module permission is supposed to be renewed every year and
how this ties users to the editor in ways that have nothing to do with open
source?

Then again, 2 possibilities:
1) did you hide those issues on purpose?
2) did you simply didn't think about all that?


Finally those are all communications details, but I think they have their
importance before one point finger to somebody. Let's focus on the agreement
and license exception then.


Thanks.


Raphaël Valyi