[theme-reviewers] GPL and limiting usage

[Otto]

On Fri, Sep 20, 2013 at 12:49 PM, Dane Morgan <dane at danemorganmedia.com> wrote:
> 3) there is code that is not GPL, because you are not allowed to use it if
> you do not have a current subscription, and therefor cannot really
> distribute it either.

Code can be GPL and still not be usable without some external service.
Jetpack is fully GPL, but most of it won't work without a
WordPress.com account. A Facebook plugin would require a Facebook
account to work. And so forth.

The GPL defines what rights a holder of the code has towards that
code. They can use the code for any purpose, modify it, distribute it,
whatever. But what the GPL does not say is that there must be
additional assistance provided by other people to make that code
useful.

Especially in the case of service-oriented code, having that "client"
side freely available is important, because it lets people modify the
code and change how it interacts with the service, or to make
compatible code of their own. The GPL does fundamentally matter in
that respect, even for code that requires a service subscription.


> 4) Moving the code to a plugin does not mean you no longer sell of support
> non GPL code, but only that you sell and support it as a separate, plug-able
> code.

The concern here was originally that the "pro code" in question was in
the theme. Outside of the GPL, WordPress.org does not allow code to be
hosted in its repositories that requires payment to function. It's one
thing to connect to a service (even a paid one) to do something with
that service, but it's wholly another thing to have code that
otherwise works but which is simply "disabled" by the service until
payment is made.

If you want to sell "code", then you host that code yourself. That was
the primary concern, and why I suggested they move that code into a
separate plugin.

-Otto