Misleading claims about MongoDB License about ferretdb HOT 2 CLOSED

Thanks for listing up the reasonings. I think it's good to have this here as a closed issue, in case someone else wonders.

from ferretdb.

(of course, everything below is not a legal advice)

That's a big topic that requires a separate blog post and discussion. We will do it one day. In the meantime, please visit http://ssplisbad.com. In particular, two things are problematic:

a. the inability to make the Service Source Code available under the terms of SSPL if the source code is under GPL, AGPL, or other licenses that don't allow relicensing, or if you just don't have the source code;

b. the wording "enabling third parties to interact with the functionality of the Program" is so vague that some people argue that it can be applied, for example, to a CRM system with API that stores data in MongoDB – after all, the primary purpose of both CRM and MongoDB is to store data.

SSPL FAQ (that is not part of the license itself) tries to say that only MongoDB-as-a-Service companies should comply, but (a) it is not possible even for them, and (b) the license text is too vague for everyone who has less money for lawyers than MongoDB Inc.

Again, we will write more about it, with more references and different opinions, and then would properly start the conversation about it. In the meantime, I will close that issue – we want to keep them focused on the development.

from ferretdb.