Title: Pro version not Open Source Last modified: June 9, 2017 --- # Pro version not Open Source * [darkpollo](https://wordpress.org/support/users/darkpollo/) * (@darkpollo) * [9 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/pro-version-not-open-source/) * Hi, After talking with the author (you can read below) he is considering to update his PRO version license, so I have changed my review too. * ——————– old message ————- The plugin author does not comply with the GPL on the PRO version. His plugins are not GPL compatible. I tried to contact him on the matter but he removed my comments on his webpage. [https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7d07eec3f2e5525059ec034ec09198d0245ccdfa6e3cce6bb97739a3b3d3e8a7.jpg?w=600&h=494](https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7d07eec3f2e5525059ec034ec09198d0245ccdfa6e3cce6bb97739a3b3d3e8a7.jpg?w=600&h=494) I also sent him a long email explaining the GPL and he never replied. * So after all this I need to tell others here to be aware of this plugin and this developer. * I cannot trust somebody that does not comply with the rules and GPL is the most important rule of all. * I am sure he will reply here, all the authors do that, I would love to hear from him after all this. - This topic was modified 9 years ago by [darkpollo](https://wordpress.org/support/users/darkpollo/). - This topic was modified 9 years ago by [darkpollo](https://wordpress.org/support/users/darkpollo/). Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total) * Plugin Author [Jordy Meow](https://wordpress.org/support/users/tigroumeow/) * (@tigroumeow) * [9 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/pro-version-not-open-source/#post-9180288) * > The plugin author does not comply with the GPL on the PRO version. His plugins > are not GPL compatible. * Pro versions are hosted on my own server. Free versions are part of it which are detached from them. It’s all fine. I didn’t only check, I had discussions about it. * Also, you didn’t create a single plugin here, I am not sure what is your purpose. * > I tried to contact him on the matter but he removed my comments on his webpage. * It’s not a forum. It’s a page, and the comments are like a FAQ. I delete 80% of comments, I move the questions to the FAQ and/or I complete the articles. I need to keep it short and simple for everyone. Discussions about GPL have nothing to do on the plugin description page, that will interest nobody. * > So after all this I need to tell others here to be aware of this plugin and > this developer. * I think my users are well-aware on how I manage my plugins. The best I can. And again, if you want to know what really happens, develop you own. It’s easy to spit in somebody’s garden when you don’t have your own. * > I am sure he will reply here, all the authors do that, I would love to hear > from him after all this. * Your one-star review was specifically made to make me react. And no, not all authors reply to a one-star review, it’s even recommended not to reply since it never resolves any issue. If you were a developer and getting reviews, you would know. * I was willing to discuss, but you didn’t let me time to reply to you. Now your messages/review feels like harassment. * Thread Starter [darkpollo](https://wordpress.org/support/users/darkpollo/) * (@darkpollo) * [9 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/pro-version-not-open-source/#post-9180364) * I sent you my email 5 days ago. You replied to this review in less than 3 hours. It is clear what interest you have. * Not sure why do I need to submit a plugin here to leave a review. This is just my review on the plugin, and, for me, authors that does not comply with the GPL do not deserve more than 2 stars. * I am not pressing you to do anything. If you care about people following the license of your plugins, you should also follow the license of other developers, like the license for WordPress.org. For me this is important, and that is the reason I have contacted you on this matter. * I am going to copy my email to you here, so you can read it and reply to it. No modifications, just copied and pasted from my mailbox. ” Hi Jordy, * Great to hear from you and thank you for explaining your reasons. I am not sure how the Lightroom plugin works, if you are using a SaaS it could work with the GPL too, but we will come back to this. For the retina2x, which I have been able to download and see the code, I am sure you are not following the rules here. * I will try to help you to understand how the GPLv2 works and I will be happy to help you find a suitable business within it. Plenty of people is earning great money using the GPLv2 license, but lets start from the beginning. * I suggest you read the license first, and the FAQ page is more helpful than the license text, but I will link both here. [https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.en.html](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.en.html) [https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0-faq.html](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0-faq.html) * Please read them completely. I know is not the easiest text, but you must understand it or at least read it. * The thing with the GPLv2 is that, if you create a work based on it, you must( must, so you do not have a choice here) select for your new work the same license or one compatible with it. And it is clear that the plugins and themes for WordPress are a derivative work, so they must follow the GPL or a compatible one. * From the faq: —“If a program released under the GPL uses plug-ins, what are the requirements for the licenses of a plug-in?— Please see this question for determining when plug-ins and a main program are considered a single combined program and when they are considered separate works. If the main program and the plugins are a single combined program then this means you must license the plug-in under the GPL or a GPL-compatible free software license and distribute it with source code in a GPL-compliant way. A main program that is separate from its plug-ins makes no requirements for the plug-ins.” * Also from the faq: — “The GPL says that modified versions, if released, must be “licensed … to all third parties.” Who are these third parties?— Section 2 says that modified versions you distribute must be licensed to all third parties under the GPL. “All third parties” means absolutely everyone—but this does not require you to do anything physically for them. It only means they have a license from you, under the GPL, for your version.” * From the license: “The act of running the Program is not restricted” From the faq: “The GPL is a free software license, and therefore it permits people to use and even redistribute the software without being required to pay anyone a fee for doing so.” * What you are doing, blocking the access to the plugin when the license is not renewed is clearly out of the GPL license. * What you cannot do: – when the code is no longer valid, the plugin must work as it was. If your website or server stop working, the plugin must work and do the same things it does. All the good developers out there follow this rule. Of course this will allow to people to share your plugin, but this is how it works. You are using the benefits of open source (WordPress used by lot of people) to get your business, you must follow the rules. If you do not like this, you should not do plugin for WordPress or any Open Source platform. * What you can do: Look other models and what are they doing, good examples are Pippin plugins, [https://pippinsplugins.com/](https://pippinsplugins.com/) or Delicious Brains with [https://deliciousbrains.com/wp-migrate-db-pro/](https://deliciousbrains.com/wp-migrate-db-pro/) They use the code but what the code allow is: – To get automatic or manual updates for the year. – To get support. No one get support for free and you can ask for a personal code. You can even forbid to sell or transfer the code, the code is not GPL. – Use a SaaS service: you provide a plugin that connect with your service, you provide a paid service and the plugin only connects with it, when the code is off, the plugin works, but it does nothing because the code only connect with your website. This is what people from OptinMonster has done, it was a plugin and now is a SaaS. The problem with this, is that I for example, do not trust my business to third party Saas, because if you close your Saas, I will lost my data too, because the SaaS is not open source. So other clients could think the same, but this could be a good solution for your Lightroom sync service. * Hope this helps you to understand my concern. * I have plenty of other links with more on the topic and google is your friend too, but make sure you understand the GPL first and why you must follow it with your plugins, no matter if they are on the official repository or not. * Best regards * Ángel ” * Plugin Author [Jordy Meow](https://wordpress.org/support/users/tigroumeow/) * (@tigroumeow) * [9 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/pro-version-not-open-source/#post-9181401) * > I sent you my email 5 days ago. You replied to this review in less than 3 hours. > > It is clear what interest you have. * Look at my FB and my Twitter and you will realize I just came back from a trip and there was a week-end also. While I appreciate that you came to me to explain something, I really can’t stand the pressure and the bad review to punish me for my lack of an answer during the time you allowed me. You are writing to somebody you don’t know, maybe I was burying my parents or something worse. You did it based on your emotions only and you shouldn’t. * I understand the purpose, sending me simply an email and waiting for my reply would have been good. Multi-comments + e-mails + bad review is really pushy. Complaining about me removing comments also. * Now this: “when the code is no longer valid, the plugin must work as it was. If your website or server stop working, the plugin must work and do the same things it does.” * You could have simply stated this, maybe with a reference. I am not evil, if I should do that, I will. I just need to check with other people I am working with (actually part of the WordPress community). Now like I told you, I have many customers with issues I couldn’t reply to, and that’s a priority for the days to come. I will definitely come back to this matter, but I really don’t appreciate how you did it and mentioning the fact I reply faster here. You are not in my seat, you really shouldn’t judge people when you don’t know them and their situation. You are giving stress to people who maybe don’t need it. Teach people if you like, but do it nicely, don’t pressure people who are already so busy. * Thread Starter [darkpollo](https://wordpress.org/support/users/darkpollo/) * (@darkpollo) * [9 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/pro-version-not-open-source/#post-9181500) * Hi Jordy, If you feel that I have been pushy, I apologize. I also want to ask you to read your own comments and put yourself on my position. I write you a comment. After a couple of days that I send you a long email. 5 days later I do not have any reply from you and also, ¡my comments has been deleted! That is something you should not do without notification to the user and that is what cause me to write the review. * I have been polite and I have ignored your personal attacks to my person, so please, do whatever you want, but do it nicely. I am also busy. * As you said that you are looking into it I am going to change the review to 3 stars. I do not want to attack you or anything, but nobody like to have their comments deleted or ignored. - This reply was modified 9 years ago by [darkpollo](https://wordpress.org/support/users/darkpollo/). * Thread Starter [darkpollo](https://wordpress.org/support/users/darkpollo/) * (@darkpollo) * [9 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/pro-version-not-open-source/#post-9203031) * Hi Jordy, * After some digging I must apologize again. This is not correct under the GPL: “ when the code is no longer valid, the plugin must work as it was. If your website or server stop working, the plugin must work and do the same things it does.” You can do that in your plugins and comply with the GPL, but you need to license your plugins with GPLv2 or compatible. This is the correct approach: “You are free to distribute a crippled version of the software for a fee under the terms of the GPL, but you cannot restrict who can unlock or fix the software, nor can you restrict what people can do with the locked or unlocked versions. Such restrictions would run afoul of the GPL in both letter and spirit. Anyone can unlock the software and then share the unlocked version with everyone else.” * So the important thing here is that your PRO plugin needs to be GPLv2 or later. How do you provide the code is up to you and perfectly valid under the GPL. * Hope it helps. * Plugin Author [Jordy Meow](https://wordpress.org/support/users/tigroumeow/) * (@tigroumeow) * [9 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/pro-version-not-open-source/#post-9211287) * Hi, * No problem, I am actually discussing this with my colleague and a few other people to do this right. * So to make it short: the plugin can be distributed the way it is already, and this is fine. The only difference with the current process is that when the license expires, the plugin shouldn’t have the options turned off (but the update will not be possible). The PRO version can basically work also without the license code. That’s exactly what EDD does for example, I can do exactly the same. Basically, that’s it, right? 🙂 And of course the Free and Pro licenses would be the same( true that at the beginning I wanted different ones). * Thread Starter [darkpollo](https://wordpress.org/support/users/darkpollo/) * (@darkpollo) * [9 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/pro-version-not-open-source/#post-9212263) * Hi Jordy, In fact, after investigating more, and as I wrote before, you can even do as you are doing now, remove the complete functionality when the license expires. That goes against the spirit of the GPL, but it is valid if you want to do that based on the pure text of the license. * What you need to do for sure is to keep a GPLv2 compatible license. * Thank you for considering it and for having time to answer here. * PS: by the way, what EDD does is perfectly fine. I love how Pippin understand the GPL. It is a great example to follow. - This reply was modified 9 years ago by [darkpollo](https://wordpress.org/support/users/darkpollo/). - This reply was modified 9 years ago by [darkpollo](https://wordpress.org/support/users/darkpollo/). 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