Free and Open Source Software

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Florp, the Firefox fork with an awful name, is fully source-available again (github.com)

submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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The repository for the previously private submodule is still called Floorp-private-components, though it's public.

https://blog.ablaze.one/4125/2024-03-11/ is a maintainer's official response to... Reddit, which crossposted me apparently. Hooray!

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

The license looks to be Creative Commons non-commercial, which means it isn’t open source, only source-available.

To be clear: the license chosen prohibits anyone who forks floorp and includes these extra bits from trying to make money from it, but the developer still intends on publishing the source code so it can still be scrutinized.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 7 months ago

Amended title. CC really isn't something one should be using for source code

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Honest question: How is CC-BY-NC not open source?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 months ago (1 children)

The license shall not restrict any party from selling or giving away the software as a component of an aggregate software distribution containing programs from several different sources. The license shall not require a royalty or other fee for such sale.

The Open Source Definition

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

That’s one of many definitions.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

It's also the most-accepted one.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

It doesn’t appear to be.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago (1 children)

TL;DR: Open source is meant to be open as in open for any use

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

But it is open for any use.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

NC in CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 stands for non-commercial

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Yea, I know. The license doesn’t restrict use. Anyone can use the software for any purpose. They just can’t sell it.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Commercial use is use

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

No, commercial exploitation is assumed ownership. It isn’t use. Open source is not CC0 — or at least that’s not the only possible open source license.

BTW, I agree that, in this case, the dev is just throwing a tantrum over using the wrong license for his earlier work.