
One Startup's Heretical Plan to Turn Open Source Code into Cash - mholt
http://www.wired.com/2016/03/former-open-sourcers-ask-companies-pay-fair-share
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sqs
We use (and created) Fair Source ([https://fair.io/](https://fair.io/)) here
at Sourcegraph ([https://sourcegraph.com](https://sourcegraph.com)).

Happy to answer any questions people have about the license. You can also
check out a recent talk I gave about Fair Source at
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_x-9oJ4pv0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_x-9oJ4pv0).

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twphonebillsoon
Does 'number of users' include downstream users? Say I use fair source in an
application which I then sell to a bunch of end users. It doesn't seem like
that falls under "For determining the number of users, “you” includes all
affiliates, meaning legal entities controlling, controlled by, or under common
control with you."

Also what made you decide to go with 'number of users' as the determining
factor for payment over a democratization model like with Unreal Engine?

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sqs
Great questions.

Re: users, you can define "users" however you'd like, if you do so clearly on
your own site where people can download your software and code. We're working
on making the definition of "user" clearer; that's part of why Fair Source is
only v0.9 right now. In some cases you'd want "users" to include end uesrs,
and in some cases you wouldn't, so we need to figure out how to accommodate
both cases.

Re: why "number of users" not Unreal Engine's model (paying $20/month to see
source code) or the id Software/Quake model (open-source the previous
version): Those work for libraries, but Fair Source is intended for end-user
applications right now.

~~~
twphonebillsoon
Just to clarify, Unreal Engine's model has changed; there's no longer a
$20/month fee to access the source code or use the engine. Its now just a % of
revenue starting after you earn a certain amount. And the option to negotiate
the license is always there.

The reason I like this model is it encourages use in areas where you have
multiple users but you aren't using the software to make any money like in
schools.

