How I license my code

I’m considering a change in the way I license my Projects. You can still do whatever you want with them. But: if you use my code to make goods or services, you’ll need to email me and say hi, as a condition of the new license.

This does two things:

1. It puts me in touch with you, a cool person who is obviously making cool things!
2. It gives me a clear idea of the impact of any changes I might make, and a way to let you know about them ahead of time (what I call my “platinum support plan”).

Why

I’ve realized that one of the things I really want from publishing open source code, rather than money or credit, is to connect with interesting people and ideas. This licensing/messaging change could be a leap forward in that area, without putting you to too much trouble.

Details

The proposed text of the Creator Connection license is available on this site.

I won’t require your email introduction as a mechanical precondition of downloading my software. Put another way: you’ll still be able to download copies using normal (including automated) methods, without jumping through any hoops. Drop me a line within a reasonable timeframe of starting or releasing your project, and you’ll be good. But remember, until you have done so, you don’t have a license.

Is it still “open source”?

The license allows you to do anything that would otherwise infringe my copyright or patent claims. It’s similar to the MIT or BSD-style licenses, just with an added “email Joel and say hi” requirement — which, by the way, doesn’t apply to end users, or to people distributing unmodified copies.

Now, does the thing I just described technically meet “open source” criteria promoted by Debian, OSI or others? I think so, but I’m not going to fuss about it. I suspect this question is usually a proxy for another one, namely “will my preferred group accept this license as open source” — a social question, rather than a technical or legal one.

So if you find yourself in a situation where this license meaningfully hinders you from using my code — meaning, people in a position to limit your progress have actually told you it’s a problem — let me know.

Acknowledgments

The text of the Creator Connection License is based on the best permissive license out there, the Blue Oak Model License. Many thanks to everyone on the Blue Oak Council for the work they do.

Thanks to Kyle Mitchell for his writing on this topic, and for thoughtful (informal) feedback.