Affero GPLv3: Why It Exists & Who It’s For?

Bradley M. Kuhn

Friday 12 October 2012

A Brief History of Affero GPL

Imagine the turn of the century.
The so-called Application Service Provider loophole.
In early 2001, someone said to me at an event: - “I won’t release my web application code at all, because the GPL is the BSD license of the web.”

Was this a loophole?

Well, it wasn’t really a loophole
GPLv2 didn’t (couldn’t?) foresee web applications.
- client/server barely existed when it was written.
Copyleft’s copyright hack centered around distribution.

The Catalyst

Henry (sometimes Henri) Poole forms Allseer.
- Which becomes Affero.
Web service company to encourage non-profit donations.
Henry points out: we have no copyleft.

Public Performance?

Is it defined for software?
If it were, would it be enough of a copyleft hack?
I’ve long supported it as an “at worst, a no-op” addition.
- I’ve been unable to persuade anyone else.

Affero Idea: Inspiration

The classic Computer Science ouroboros:
The program that prints its own source
Sometimes called “quine”

Affero Idea: Inspiration

GPLv2§2(c):

If the modified program normally reads commands interactively when run, you must cause it, when started running for such interactive use in the most ordinary way, to print or display an announcement including an appropriate copyright notice and a notice that there is no warranty (or else, saying that you provide a warranty) and that users may redistribute the program under these conditions, and telling the user how to view a copy of this License. (Exception: if the Program itself is interactive but does not normally print such an announcement, your work based on the Program is not required to print an announcement.)

Merging the Two

Precedent has thus been set:
- GPL can require a “feature preservation for freedom”
mid 2002–09: I suggest a print-your-own-source feature for GPLv2.2§2(d).
Lawyers draft, ditching the CS-y focus of print-your-own-source:
- “download my CCS now” feature preservation instead.
Henry is excited.
Affero GPL v1 is born.

Affero GPL v1 is Born

AGPLv1§2(d)

If the Program as you received it is intended to interact with users through a computer network and if, in the version you received, any user interacting with the Program was given the opportunity to request transmission to that user of the Program’s complete source code, you must not remove that facility from your modified version of the Program or work based on the Program, and must offer an equivalent opportunity for all users interacting with your Program through a computer network to request immediate transmission by HTTP of the complete source code of your modified version or other derivative work.

The Great Stallman Stalling, 2002–2006

RMS agrees to make:
- AGPLv1§2(d) == GPL v2.2§2(d)
For various (mostly bad) reasons, GPLv2.2 is never released.
- Yes, I have a copy if you really want one.
Affero, Inc. (the company) goes bankrupt.
For various (mostly bad) reasons, the “FSF team” forks …
- … and I fall into (victim to?) a long distraction.
GPLv3 process begins.

Wait, What?!?!

By the time I realize what had happened …
- … Affero clause isn’t in GPLv3 drafts!
Henry, fortunately, insists on license upgrade for AGPLv1.
AGPLv3 is born.
- But not released until 19 November 2007
- Fontana writes AGPLv2 (transitional).

Affero Clause: Current

AGPLv3§13

Notwithstanding any other provision of this License, if you modify the Program, your modified version must prominently offer all users interacting with it remotely through a computer network (if your version supports such interaction) an opportunity to receive the Corresponding Source of your version by providing access to the Corresponding Source from a network server at no charge, through some standard or customary means of facilitating copying of software. This Corresponding Source shall include the Corresponding Source for any work covered by version 3 of the GNU General Public License that is incorporated pursuant to the following paragraph.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this License, you have permission to link or combine any covered work with a work licensed under version 3 of the GNU General Public License into a single combined work, and to convey the resulting work. The terms of this License will continue to apply to the part which is the covered work, but the work with which it is combined will remain governed by version 3 of the GNU General Public License.

The Affero Clause

There’s an old saying that victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan.

— John F. Kennedy

What happened in the meantime?

The rise of:
- Ruby on Rails
- AJAX (remember that it was once called that?)
- “Release everything but your secret sauce” (cf: Preston’s Open Source (Almost) Everything)
Web developers didn’t pick copyleft …
- … maybe because we hadn’t given them a copyleft.
- permissive MIT license & 3-clause BSD rules the web.

The Application

Today, most new applications deploy online …
- from infrastructure-level like OpenStack …
- to even developer tools like GitHub/BitBucket (!) …
- to end-user applications: FaceBook, Twitter, GooglePlus.
The dark ages are coming!

Dark Ages? Really?

The develpoers (monks) have the source code (books).

Dark Ages? Really?

The people (users) trust the power of the church (Facebook).

Dark Ages? Really?

We cloistered few shall have freedom:
- source code haves and have-nots …
- … (again!)

Generational Change

Has today’s developer chased a bug from the top to the bottom?
Will tomorrow’s developer ever need to?
- Is the complexity too much anyway?
Will tomorrow’s developer care?
- The past cloistered missed Free Software entirely, after all.

Hindsight

Maybe this was inevitable?
- Even if GPLv2.2 came out in mid–2002 …
- Generational disconnect was the primary factor.
Who’s AGPLv3 for today?

The Great Abuse

Proprietary relicensing (by holding all copyright).
License enforcement with profit as its primary (and only?) goal.
MySQL would shake down GPL users to buy proprietary licenses they didn’t need.
More copyleft means more shakedowns.
Most common use of AGPLv3 today.
It makes me sick.

Community Development

AGPLv3’s intended for community development.
Lots of copyright holders: + all bound to each other by copyleft.
The great trust of copyleft.
Sadly, few are writing this code.

The Great Marketing Challenge

The Free Software Twitter exists …
- … StatusNet; it’s AGPLv3’d
- … but it’s a ghost-town compared to Twitter.
The Free Software tumblr/flickr exists …
- … GNU Mediagoblin; it’s AGPLv3’d
- … but it’s a ghost-town compared to tumblr/flickr.
We’re back to catching up to proprietary software:
- Like GNU had to catch up to Unix.
- That took almost 20 years!

More Info / Talk License

URLs / Social Networking / Email:
- Conservancy: sfconservancy.org & @conservancy
- Me: faif.us, ebb.org/bkuhn & @bkuhn (identi.ca only)
- Slides at: ebb.org/bkuhn/talks & gitorious.org/bkuhn/talks (source)

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