plugin as AGPL

You need to contact plugins @ www.ads-software.com.

No, you can’t.

*Looks for coffee, finds none.*

I’m not on the plugins team but AGPL is incompatible with the GPL. A plugin can’t be declared AGPL as WordPress is GPL

*Finds updated link*

Ha! I’m probably wrong. ??

https://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl.html

I don’t think it would work in the WordPress repo but as Andrew wisely wrote, check with the plugins team.

In short, no, we would probably not allow plugins using the Affero GPL to be in the directory.

The AGPL adds the requirement that, if you run a modified version of code on a server, then you must allow others to download that modified source code from the server as well.

For a plugin in particular, this presents problems with regards to end-users, who may not know how to offer such a download in order to comply with the license. Yet they may modify their plugin to better fit their needs, or to fix issues specific to their server. By so doing, they might unknowingly violate the license, and that’s something we would probably prefer to avoid.

I’ve recently updated my plugin beta (currently on GH) to use AGPL-3.0.

I’d like to release my plugin under the AGPL to WP.org because:

• To help ensure modifications to the software are made available to the community at large for the public good.
• So individuals running my code can be absolutely certain they’re not running a modified version unexpectedly.

It is for that reason I don’t believe WordPress would “probably not allow plugins using the Affero GPL”. @otto42 If possible, could you please double-check with legal and help keep us updated? This is the first thread in 6 years (as far as I can tell) to bring up AGPL here on the forums, and I’d hate to see the discussion squashed by probabilities without regard for possibilities.

Thank you kindly for your support.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 6 months ago by Josh Habdas.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 6 months ago by Josh Habdas.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 6 months ago by Josh Habdas.

@jhabdas The answer is still no, for the reasons I already gave above. It’s not compatible, and presents problems to users of the code. Therefore it would not be acceptable for the plugin directory, which is primarily for code to be given to end-users.

If you want to continue hosting your plugin on Github or your own site, then you can do so there.

I fail to understand how the answer could still be “no” when no definitive answer has previously been given. That said, if you are not a licensed attorney and have not spoken with one about it I’m afraid I cannot accept your answer with good conscience.

This is not a matter for attorneys or lawyers or anything else in any way related to legality. This is a matter of the policies of the plugin directory.

We require plugins in the directory to be licensed in ways that are GPL-Compatible, for our own reasons. Not because we are legally obligated to do any such thing, but because that is *our* policy.

So, we won’t accept AGPL licensed code because it is incompatible, and because it does not align with *our* policies for the directory. This is not a legal opinion, because the law is not involved in this decision in any way. Our directory, our hosting services, our rules.

We’ll see.

Feel free to email us about it if you have more specific questions. Our email is [email protected].

Thanks @otto42. I appreciate the private line. Does Legal have an email address I could use to get a hold of them as well? Given there feel to be some barriers here it seems to me getting an authoritative opinion would be the best approach to move forward, and help avoid gatekeeping. Afterall, the goal is to optimize end-user value, correct?

[ email redacted ]

No, we don’t have a legal specific team like that. This is an open source organization, run by volunteers. If we need a lawyer, we get one, but we really don’t need one to decide what plugins we allow to be hosted on our systems.

Also, there is no avoiding gatekeeping. It’s our gate. We keep it nice and tidy.

Pardon me for my lack of knowledge regarding your organization. But if you’re organized in the United States of America and even a sole-proprietorship, it is mandatory to have an attorney to represent your business. As a result, I find it difficult to believe a company the size of Automattic does not have a legal correspondence. And, if not, please consider setting up an auto-reply at [email protected] to help facilitate communication and alleviate the gatekeeping pressures being imposed here.

I understand your views, however, this site is not owned by Automattic. We’re a non-profit organization. We don’t have any Automatticians on the plugin review team, although they do help us out from time to time, and we thank them for their assistance.

@otto42 That’s good to know, and until you mentioned it I was not fully aware of the split. I want to thank you kindly for your time as I realize it is short. I’m going to open up a separate thread for general discussion of GPL compatible licenses and how one might use them with WordPress for the benefit of your 501(c)(3). Cheers.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 6 months ago by Josh Habdas.