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For questions about software in an open-source context; its uses and limitations.

14 votes
Accepted

Is installing an old free version legal, if the new version is not free anymore?

If you were given software under some Foo License, you may copy, distribute, and modify the software under the terms of the Foo License. … If the distributor of that software stops giving out new copies under the Foo License, that does not change the fact that you did receive a copy of it under the Foo License. …
apsillers's user avatar
  • 37.7k
71 votes
Accepted

Is Microsoft VS Code really open source?

With the exception of branding and configuration values, this open source base is identical to the built software product we offer." …
apsillers's user avatar
  • 37.7k
9 votes
Accepted

Licensing code on GitHub in a valid way

I want to make sure in no way am I liable for any issues, and that my code cannot simply be copied and claimed as someone else's. You want a license that includes a disclaimer of liability (often …
apsillers's user avatar
  • 37.7k
4 votes

Can I hide a few lines of code because of security reasons?

The key is not code within the software system; it is a configuration value provided to the system. (I have a related answer for the question Open Source Projects with Encryption Keys.) …
apsillers's user avatar
  • 37.7k
8 votes
Accepted

Can a quine be distributed as binary only and be open source?

This is categorically fine under the MIT license (as long as you follow basic attribution and license-preservation requirements), since the MIT license allows you to distribute the work (and modified …
apsillers's user avatar
  • 37.7k
3 votes

Are there any real punishments for intentional malicious behavior in GPL or any other "no-wa...

If the software has deliberate defects or malicious "features" (e.g., malware) then we need not rely on warranties to pursue legal action: in such a case, the author has surely violated a number of civil …
apsillers's user avatar
  • 37.7k
8 votes
Accepted

Are shell scripts considered binaries for licensing purposes?

The parenthetical (and not binary) from the license summary you quote is derived from the end of the second paragraph of the Boost license (emphasis mine): The copyright notices in the Software and this … entire statement, including the above license grant... must be included in all copies of the Software... unless such copies or derivative works are solely in the form of machine-executable object code …
apsillers's user avatar
  • 37.7k
5 votes

Distribute virtual machine image with gpl code

Here is what I can say with absolute certainty: you must obey the terms of the GPL for the GPL library you are distributing (and for any other GPL code in your VM, e.g., any GPL-licensed GNU or Linux …
apsillers's user avatar
  • 37.7k
3 votes
Accepted

Redistribution of BSD source code

I'll go ahead and allow you to use and redistribute that software, with or without modifications, as long as you follow these requirements: 1. … Bear in mind that proprietary or copyleft software may also include BSD license notices if they make use of BSD-licensed code. …
apsillers's user avatar
  • 37.7k
42 votes
Accepted

Is it legal to have the "// (c) 2019 John Smith" header in all files when there are hundreds...

As far as I am aware, all FLOSS licenses that deal with copyright notices only require the preservation of notices that exist. Each author had the opportunity to add their own name to header when they …
apsillers's user avatar
  • 37.7k
2 votes
Accepted

Can I download one file from GitHub without copying the license?

Free and open source licenses like the MIT license you quote are copyright licenses: they permit you to do something that, by the default under copyright law, you wouldn't usually be allowed to do. Fo …
apsillers's user avatar
  • 37.7k
1 vote

Would this scenario be considered "propagation without conveying" according to the GPLv3 ter...

The GPL FAQ addresses a similar case (emphasis mine): Does GPLv3 require that voters be able to modify the software running in a voting machine? No. … Companies distributing devices that include software under GPLv3 are at most required to provide the source and Installation Information for the software to people who possess a copy of the object code …
apsillers's user avatar
  • 37.7k
8 votes
Accepted

Open Source projects with encryption keys

You should not include keys in your open source project. You should include a file location where your code expects a key, and the user (or an included utility) creates or copies their own unique key …
apsillers's user avatar
  • 37.7k
1 vote

Is using SheetJS free for commercial use?

This is the widely-used Apache License 2.0, which allows you to redistribute the work, whether modified or unmodified, for any purpose, as long as you preserve the original author's copyright notices. …
apsillers's user avatar
  • 37.7k
1 vote

Why are open source projects so broken and apathetic if they are run by idealists?

A few of them include: they have a personal need for software that performs some specific functionality they think proprietary software is unethical and want to develop a replacement for some specific … It's easy to imagine free and open source software is developed in pursuit of an idealistic vision to create the perfect software, or to rid the world, once and for all, of proprietary software. …
apsillers's user avatar
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