Hi -legal!
There is some forum software called YaBB which is released under the
"YaBB Public License". It is evidently non-free, but I want to convince
them to change it. I've made a list of problems that I've found, but
before I ask upstream to change the license, can someone please make
sure that I haven't missed any?
You can find an unmodified copy of the license in the following link,
but you'll need to save it as a html file:
http://sourceforge.net/p/yabb/svn/HEAD/tree/trunk/cgi-bin/yabb2/license.txt
Thanks,
Riley Baird
License - YaBB Public License (YPL)
Below is the license YaBB has adopted for the software. It explains your
extended rights and restrictions with the YaBB forum software. We
basically ask that you leave the copyright intact and visible on the
bottom of your forum at all times on all pages. If you wish to break the
following license or remove the copyright, you may make an inquiry by
visiting the following URL: http://www.yabbforum.com/licenses.php.
Version 1.0, Adopted On April 17, 2001
Version 2.0, Adopted On April 13, 2004
Version 2.1, Adopted On September 7, 2005
Version 2.2, Adopted On November 08, 2007
Version 2.2.1, Adopted On March 05, 2008
Version 2.2.2, Adopted On June 05, 2008
Version 2.2.3, Adopted On July 12, 2008
Version 2.3, Adopted On October 12, 2008
Version 2.3.1, Adopted On January 04, 2009
Version 2.4, Adopted On April 12, 2009
Version 2.5 Anniversary Edition, Adopted On July 04, 2010
Version 2.5.2, Adopted On October 21, 2012
Version 2.5.4, Adopted On September 1, 2013
Version 2.6.0, Adopted On February 20, 2014
Version 2.6.1, Adopted On September 1, 2014
Definitions
You: This is you, if you are considering distributing, modifying or
using this Package.
Program: This refers to the YaBB source files that comprise the Perl
program and derivatives of that program.
Package: This refers to the collection of files distributed by YaBB and
derivatives of that collection of files created through textual
modification.
Standard Version: This refers to such a Package if it has not been
modified or has been modified in accordance with the wishes of YaBB as
specified below.
Distribution Fee: This is a fee you charge for providing a copy of this
Package to another party.
Freely Available: This means that no fee is charged for the right to use
the Package, though there may be fees involved in handling it. It also
means that recipients of the Package may redistribute it under the same
conditions they received it.
> "Standard Version", "Distribution Fee" and "Freely Available" do not
> appear in the body of the license.
License: This is the document you are currently reading (YaBB's Public
License).
Illegal Actions: Any action that is illegal in the country you reside
in, the country websites using YaBB are hosted in, and the country a
visitor to said websites reside in.
> This effectively includes the entire world. So, if someone from
> North Korea visits my website, I have to make sure my website
> follows North Korean law.
Preamble
The licenses for most software are designed to take away your freedom to
share and change it. By contrast, this License is intended to guarantee
your freedom to share and change free software -- to make sure the
software is free for all its users.
When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not price.
Our YaBB Public License is designed to make sure that you have the
freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge for a service
if you wish), that you receive source code or can get it if you want it,
that you can change the software or use pieces of it in new free
programs; and that you know you can do these things.
To protect your rights, we need to make restrictions that forbid anyone
to deny you these rights or to ask you to surrender the rights. These
restrictions translate to certain responsibilities for you if you
distribute copies of the software, or if you modify it. For example, if
you distribute copies of such a program, whether gratis or for a fee,
you must give the recipients all the rights that you have. You must make
sure that they too receive or can get the source code, and you must show
them these terms so they know their rights.
We protect your rights with two steps: (1) copyright the software, and
(2) offer you this license which gives you legal permission to copy,
distribute and/or modify the software.
Also, for each author's protection and ours, we want to make certain
that everyone understands that there is no warranty for this free
software. If the software is modified by someone else and passed on, we
want its recipients to know that what they have is not the original, so
that any problems introduced by others will not reflect on the original
authors' reputations.
Finally, any free program is threatened constantly by software patents.
We wish to avoid the danger that redistributors of a free program will
individual
