Comment by light_hue_1
4 years ago
AGPL is banned from every corporation I have ever seen.
Because it's viral even when it is used internally, you might end up having to release things you never expected and that are very sensitive.
It would be insane to allow anyone to use AGPL code in any corporate environment.
MongoDB is effectively licensed under the AGPL and seems to have no problem being used by corporations of all sizes.
MongoDB is licenses as SSPL which is non Open Source license all together
BUT this is only if you are not paying for MongoDB. If you do chances are you're using MongoDB Enterprise which is licensed under commercial license or MongoDB Atlas all together
SSPL is a nearly verbatim copy of AGPL, except one section. It is more restrictive than the AGPL, in a way that many feel is anti-competitive, which is why it's not considered Open Source by many, but also in a way which doesn't really change the argument here IMO.
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MongoDB - the application is. MongoDB - the service isn't.
You can use an Oracle database (however ugly its licensing is) without having an oracle license on every piece of data you expose. The same is true of Mongo license and the data it exposes as a service.
The AGPL in this case is "you use MongoDB - someone wants to know about it, the source for MongoDB is over there." MongoDB AGPL doesn't 'infect' the application it is part of.
Now, if you were to fork MongoDB and do something with that fork (FongoDB), and that deployed FongoDB would need to make it's source code available if it was accessible - not the entire application that it is part of or components that use the data that it provides.
Yes, that's the entire purpose of the AGPL. If that's the outcome this person wants for their project, they should consider the AGPL.
I'm attempting to counter the narrative that no corporation would touch any AGPL software, because it's clear that how you are using the software is an important part of the equation.
MongoDB no longer uses the AGPL licence.
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Wouldn’t those corporations just purchase the commercial license MongoDB offers, though?
Maybe? The commercial version has some extra features, but if you don't need them then there's probably no need to. I imagine there is more value in paying for a support contract.