Licenses

OpenSource is not the same as free or freeware which comes with no license of any kind. OpenSource follows one of several licenses which dictates how it can be used.

Primarily, the drive behind OpenSource licenses is to allow people to use it. Most licenses allow you to use the program freely, provided that in any modifications that you distribute, you acknowledge the author, don't mix the code up with software that comes with an incompatible license, and make your changes available under the same license.

OpenSource licenses are written to be understood by a layman, but if in any doubt at all, consult an attorney. Generally it is cheaper to ensure licenses are followed than guessing.

The most popular license is called General Public License (GPL). Of the GPL, version 2 and version 3 are the most commonly used. Version 3 of the AGPL exists to cover certain undesirable conditions such as hosting software over a network. Which is where the Affero General Public License (AGPL) comes from. OSDial is licensed under the AGPL versions 2 & 3.

In effect this means that if you want to offer OSDial as a hosted service and alter the 'Get OSDial here' link then you must obtain a license from us.

There is another limitation, the OSDial logo is not open source licensed, which means that you cannot use the logo on any website or documentation or other medium, not including normal use, without expressed written agreement from us.