[wp-hackers] Disabing a paid extension of our plugin if the licence is not renewed, is doing this too agressive?

[Nicholas Ciske]

We're not misunderstanding ;-)

Cutting off support and upgrades is OK -- they have no right to that under the GPL.

Disabling code that was working/active because you did not renew a license is not compatible with the GPL. Even if it's a paid add-on, if it touches the WP API, it becomes GPL code.

The issue is removing access to code that is not yours to revoke anymore. Once you give them GPL code, you can't take it back... that's the core tenet of the GPL.

If you want to remove access if they are not paying you, you have to make a serviceware plugin and run the "service" on your server. e.g. Akismet, VaultPress, etc.

Those don't deactivate when you stop paying, they simply stop providing the service you were paying for (the GPL code remains intact and running). They will not break or cripple your site in the process. And, yes, deactivating a plugin without notifying the user will break some sites.

_________________________
Nick Ciske
http://thoughtrefinery.com/
@nciske	

On Mar 3, 2014, at 7:46 PM, Dino Termini <dino at duechiacchiere.it> wrote:

> I think you guys misinterpreted what he was saying. He's talking about add-ons that extend the main plugin's functionality. The one available on the repository would be free and fully functioning, while add-ons would be available for a fee. He's asking if it would be okay to disable the add-on if no license is entered.