Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Don't be evil; Be Harmless!



Ok, I admit it. I'm one of those people who think that peace, love and understanding isn't so bad after all.
Since I occasionally share free (libre) source code on the Internets, the question of how to license it naturally arises.

To that end I've developed the Harm-Less Permissive License (HPL). It's a permissive, non copyleft, software license. It is based on the FreeBSD license but with one additional restriction; the "harm-less" clause. It prevents software, licensed under the HPL, to be used for harming humans or animals.

Check out the link above for more information about the license. The license text is available here.

Update 1: I've started a collaboration with the organization People for the Ethical Threatment of Animals (PETA). They are running a story on the HPL and are helping me host the HPL document.

Update 2: The land slide has started. Slashdot.org has the story: PETA Creates New Animal-Friendly Software License. This is my first on Slashdot...

Update 3: The news have made it to the Ubuntu Forums: Move over GPL - meet the HPL! 

Update 4: HPL has recently made an appearance in Osqledaren; the student magazine of the Swedish Royal Academy of Science. Read the (Swedish) article: För dig som inte vill döda

2 comments:

  1. I'm always amazed by how generous people are on their blogs and you are no exception! Perhaps even someone that cares a damn.... great blog!

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  2. Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you liked the blog.

    ReplyDelete