This FAQ addresses questions for developers & companies interested in working on Business Source License (BSL) software or adopting BSL for their own business.
MariaDB Business Source License (BSL) | MariaDB
This FAQ addresses questions for MariaDB customers and users interested in why MariaDB is employing the Business Source License (BSL).
Business Source License 1.1 | MariaDB
Details of MariaDB’s Business Source License (BSL) 1.1.
Introducing the Functional Source License: Freedom without Free-riding
Sentry started life in 2008 as an unlicensed, 71-line Django plugin. The next year we began publishing it under BSD-3, and ten years later we switched to the Business Source License (BSL or BUSL). Last year we purchased Codecov, and a few months ago we published it under BSL/BUSL as well. That led to some vigorous debate because of our use of the term “Open Source” to describe Codecov, from which emerged this helpful suggestion from Adam Jacob, co-founder of Chef:
The Open Source Distributor Business Model
Dirk Riehle, dirk@riehle.org, Published in Computer vol. 54, no. 12 (December 2021), pp. 99-103. Abstract This article defines and discusses one particular commercial open source business model, ca…
What is RSL? | RSL: Really Simple Licensing
The open content licensing standard for the AI-first Internet
Open sourcing our server
We take the final step in our open source journey. Our clients had always been open source. Today, we are also releasing the source code for our servers.
The Local Relational Technologist
Who can we rely on for meaningful software in our communities?
Singi Labs — Open source foundations for networked apps
Singi Labs builds open source, decentralized software on the AT Protocol. Home of Barazo (community forums) and Sifa (professional identity and trust).
Software Is Made Between Commits
From the Zed Blog: Agents turned the conversation into the real source of our software. DeltaDB is the version control built for it.
Some startups are going ‘fair source’ to avoid the pitfalls of open source licensing | TechCrunch
New alternative category to 'closed source' could help companies monetize software in the open -- without going all-in on open source.
#opensource | Andre Zayarni | 61 comments
We have a long history with MongoDB. Many years ago, when I was still writing code myself, NoSQL was a novel concept. I was sold on its simplicity and natural compatibility with the Node stack. I used Mongo for all my side projects. For work, we still preferred SQL DBs, though. Fast forward to the early days of Qdrant, MongoDB Ventures reached out, and we had several conversations; they considered investing in our seed round. Their product managers and engineers were reaching out and praising our solution. At some point, they revealed that they are going to add vectors to their Atlas search product just by using Lucene. So what, who cares? At Qdrant, we’re not retrofitting anything. We’re building a dedicated vector search engine - from the ground up. If someone wants to replicate what we do? Go ahead, we are #opensource. But here’s where it gets frustrating. We have put in the hard work building our community and attracting prominent people in the AI landscape to use our product and create content about it. We have built our Qdrant Stars program to engage with the community even closely. qdrant.tech/stars So, what does it have to do with Mongo? Well, they just made a clever shortcut and reached out to our Qdrant Stars program members and influencers from our community, making them an offer they could not decline. I do not blame the content creators, it is their daily work and it is an excellent opportunity for them, guys, I can totally understand you, no worries. But let's call it what it is: A multi-billion-dollar company is now trying to buy its way into a community built by an early-stage startup, not them. We don’t fear competition. But when the incumbents start copying your strategy and poaching your community, it says one thing loud and clear: We’re making the right people nervous. We’ll never outspend Mongo, and we don’t need to. We have something they can’t copy or buy: a fast-growing, mission-driven, technically superior open platform - and a community that sees through the noise. So to the engineers, researchers, and creators who believe in open innovation, performance that doesn’t compromise, and communities that are earned, not acquired: you know where to find us. And to the MongoDB marketing geniuses: take on Elastic, take on Redis, take on Oracle, and others of your calibre, but leave Qdrant and other startups like us alone. | 61 comments on LinkedIn
Local-first software: you own your data, in spite of the cloud
As part of the Digital Library's transition to Open Access, new features for researchers are available in the Premium Edition. Click here to learn more.
Roadmap: Open Source
After years of investing in open source software, we’re releasing our thinking on what positions these companies as emerging technology giants.
