Stack Exchange just opened a huge opportunity

Question

They're screwing their current customers ( http://blog.stackexchange.com/post/518474918/stack-exchange-2-0 ) and blocking out anyone that wants a private Q/A site.

Huge opportunity for Q2A.  This will not come again.

Quick, Q2A, get your act in order:

- Decide on a license.  NOW.  The ambiguities in the current license (is there even a license?) will not do for people looking at alternatives.

- Set up at least a skeleton repository for themes/addons.

- If you will open source this, set up a repository.

It's great you just went 1.0 a couple days ago, timing could not be better.

Now get the market share up!  Tie up the loose ends.

Comments

Thanks for your note. I understand the license is not a standard one, but can you please clarify where you feel it is ambiguous?

---

If you refer to the license as http://www.question2answer.org/qa/17/what-is-the-licence-of-this-product , then my comments are these:

- This is not a true license statement.  "outward facing site"?  What does that mean?  A lwayer would have a field day with this.

- What about other people modifying the code?  Everyone has a copy of it.  What can they do with it?  Who owns the modified source?

- What if they change the code and not share it?

- Will you change your mind later about the license?

- How will you pursue those who violate your license statement?

- Countless other things that lawyers have already put into other licensing.

I would look at widely-known licenses and see if any of those fit your needs.  More than anything, people want to see a clear statement.  What you have right now (no offense meant by this) is what a non-lawyer would write.  It's so ambiguous, it's dangerous to use.

---

Thanks for your detailed response. I couldn't find an existing license out there that was suitable, so I'll have to get one drawn up by a lawyer. In the meantime, here are the answers to your questions:

1. An outward facing site means a website that offers unrestricted public access, i.e. not behind a password, firewall, hidden in an Intranet, etc... It means a site that anyone in the world can reach with a browser connected to the web. Perhaps the simplest way to say it is: a site that can appear in search engines.

2. You can modify the code as much as you want, and use that modified code on any website. You cannot however sell the modified code, remove the link to Q2A, or redistribute it. You don't need to share your changes, and can sell services to modify the code for others.

3. The license may change in future, yes, but the change will not be retroactive with regards to the current version being distributed. (I expect the license will only get less restrictive over time, but don't want to make a legally binding representation regarding that.)

4. Of course I reserve the right to pursue any violation of the license, and have already (unfortunately) had to do so in the case of two rip-offs.

Anyway I very much take your point about including a formal legal license. In the meantime I hope the above helps clarify things a little.

---

Thanks for the clarification.  These whole threads about licensing should be merged into a single document that spells it all out.  even if it's not in lawyer speak, a single web page or file that spells out the info in the various threads about licensing will help win people over.

In the meantime, it would be advantageous for you to host this.  Maybe put in your license that you will not allow people to host q2a sites for a profit.  You can reserve the right to do so in your license.  People coming over from SE should not have a problem with this.  That way you assure yourself revenue from your project while you work out the licensing.

One last mention and then I will not mention it again, I promise: You should look at existing open-source-like licenses ( http://www.opensource.org/licenses ) and see if one already fits what you want.  There are many variants of the licenses already written.  If you find a license that suits your taste, not only will it save you money, but it will make q2a's license accepted by default ad then everyone can move on to making q2a a better product/project.

Thanks!

Answer 1

I agree. I saw the news on StackExchange; I think they are offering it for free to anyone that can get enough votes from the community about their idea of QA site.

I am staying loyal with Q2A and going to stay using this platform. I will be wrapping up a project this week and will begin focusing on getting my community started and growing.