| 2007-07-18 10:02:16 |
Matthew Paul Thomas |
description |
When a project is registered, we should require the registrar to specify the license of the code. This will:
* reduce (though by no means eliminate) dummy projects and non-software projects;
* help ensure that someone registering a project actually knows a thing or two about it;
* help ensure that people aren't registering proprietary projects without them or us realizing.
This feature is not yet fully specified. Unresolved issues include:
* Which licenses should be allowed? (Google Code allows seven: Apache License 2.0, Artistic License/GPLv2, GPL 2.0, LGPL, MIT, MPL 1.1, and New BSD.)
* What should the interface look like? (A default value would be a bad idea, but so would a text field.)
* Where should the interface be presented? (Probably fairly early in the form, so that people don't waste time filling out the rest of the information if the license field makes them realize they're in the wrong place.)
* How should existing projects be handled? (Perhaps their registrars should be e-mailed, giving them a few months to declare their license or emigrate.) |
When a project is registered, we should require the registrar to specify that all the project's code is licensed under OSI-approved licenses. This will:
* reduce (though by no means eliminate) dummy projects and non-software projects;
* help ensure that someone registering a project actually knows a thing or two about it;
* help ensure that people aren't registering proprietary projects without them or us realizing.
The interface for this should consist of a text field and a pair of radio buttons, something like:
This project:
(*) is all licensed under _OSI-approved licenses_
Name the license or licenses used: [____________]
( ) includes code that is proprietary or licensed under non-OSI-approved licenses
These controls should come early in the registration form, so that people don't waste time filling out the rest of the information if the license field makes them realize they're in the wrong place.
Unresolved issues include:
* How should existing projects be handled? (Perhaps their registrars should be e-mailed, giving them a few months to declare their license or emigrate.) |
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