Comment by Strom
3 years ago
AGPL has language to cover such things, e.g.
> All other non-permissive additional terms are considered "further restrictions" within the meaning of section 10. If the Program as you received it, or any part of it, contains a notice stating that it is governed by this License along with a term that is a further restriction, you may remove that term.
So it seems at best there is a need for a middle man who gets the AGPL licensed version that can then propagate it further under pure AGPL.
I think that language is meant for the case where someone takes an AGPL programs, slaps another restriction on it, and sends it along.
The last person in the chain can disregard the extra "conditions".
But this only works if someone distributed it under (only) the AGPL in the first. In the specific case with the software we are talking about now, that is not the case. It was originally distributed under this almost-AGPL.
But yes, the wording inside the AGPL makes it extra confusing exactly. It reads like those test where the instruction is "before you do anything, read all the questions".
This doesn’t make sense to me. If one clause says another clause can be removed, then doesn’t that create a contradiction where legally it’s unclear which of the two clauses “wins” the fight - the one adding additional restrictions or the one removing that clause?