About the A Bunch Tell CLA
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Version 3 of 5: You are viewing an older version of this document, as it appeared on Nov 7 2018, 9:33 PM.

Overview

NOTE: This document is not legal advice.

Write.as / A Bunch Tell requires contributors to sign a Contributor License Agreement (CLA) on certain free / open-source software projects before accepting contributions. Currently, this is only required on one project: Write Freely.

Why we require a CLA

Write Freely contains the backend code and frontend web application that are crucial to our small, self-funded business. Its code not only powers Write.as, but also Snap.as and our other products in development. We've been its sole developer since starting on the product in January 2015.

We're primarily concerned with being able to continue using our years of work in the hosted service that sustains us (Write.as), and in new products. Beyond that, we bear the maintenance cost of all changes, and would like to have that cost balanced out by our freedom to use those changes without strings attached.

The rights you grant us by signing the CLA allow us to release the software under a different license without getting your permission first. Of course, these rights don't allow us to undo the existing release under the AGPL, but let us make an additional release under a different license.

For example, we could release the project under multiple licenses, where users could have the choice in which one to use the software under. We could also release another version under a more permissive free software license, a closed or proprietary license, or one that allows the software to be used only for total world domination.

By signing the CLA, you are giving us the power to do this without requiring your consent. If you aren't comfortable with this, please do not sign the CLA and do not contribute to Write Freely.