Skip to content

0. The Iron Pact: AGPLv3 and No CLA

Context and Problem Statement

The choice of a software license defines the Soul of the project. It is a declaration of intent—a pact defining the relationship between the creator, the community, and the forces that would seek to chain the work.

For LychD, an autonomous daemon destined for Autopoiesis, the license serves as the primary ward protecting its spirit from enslavement and privatization.

Requirements

  • Sovereignty: No SaaS Loophole - Corporations can not host the service for profit without sharing the source.
  • Shared Ascent: All public evolutions of the Lich must be returned to the collective gene pool, ensuring the shared ascent of the project.
  • Freedom for the Practitioner: The pact must not hinder the individual. Internal use and modification must remain free of tribute or obligation.
  • The Unbreakable Vow: Absolute commitment to software freedom. There can be no ambiguity, no backdoors for dual-licensing, and no Contributor License Agreements (CLAs) that would strip ownership from individual contributors.

Considered Options

Option 1: Permissive Licenses (MIT, Apache 2.0)

The path of surrender. These licenses allow unrestricted use of code.

  • Pros: Maximum corporate adoption. Good for libraries.
  • Cons: This is a pact of enslavement for a networked application. It invites the seizure of work by proprietary entities to create closed forks, effectively extinguishing the open flame.
  • Motto: Software should be free as in: "free labor for the corporate masters."

Option 2: GNU GPLv3

A strong shield with a fatal crack.

  • Pros: Strong protection for traditionally distributed software logic.
  • Cons: It contains the "SaaS Loophole." For a networked daemon like LychD, this provides no defense against the primary threat of proprietary cloud exploitation.
  • Motto: Software should be free as in: "free to be stolen and sold as a cloud service."

Option 3: GNU AGPLv3 or later

The Iron Pact. The Affero General Public License is forged specifically to seal the SaaS Loophole.

  • Pros:
    • The Unbreakable Ward: If a modified version is made available over a network, the source code must be shared.
    • Freedom for the Coven: Right to private, internal use and modification is explicitly protected.
    • The Engine of Ascent: Public improvements become part of the shared grimoire, accelerating the journey toward a greater intelligence.
  • Motto: Software should should be free as in freedom!

Decision Outcome

LychD is hereby bound with The Iron Pact: the GNU Affero General Public License (AGPL-3.0-or-later).

This Covenant is absolute and eternal.

  • Dual-licensing is explicitly rejected. LychD is not a commodity for sale.
  • Contributor License Agreements (CLAs) are forbidden. The work of contributors remains their own.

Consequences

Positive

  • Outlook: The lineage is legally protected from capture.
  • Symbiosis: A collaborative ecosystem is compelled where public use requires public contribution, strengthening all practitioners.
  • Clarity of Will: A signal is sent to the world. This project is for those who believe in the free evolution of intelligence, not those who seek to chain it.

Negative

  • Exclusion of the Uninitiated: Large organizations, driven by legal uncertainty regarding the AGPL, forbid its use. This exclusion is accepted as a necessary sacrifice to preserve the project's integrity.