The "Speak to Me" Closed License

An experimental, custom license designed to incentivize communication and collaboration.

Rationale

If the source you wish to see, you must answer my riddles three.

Pay me not in money, but in attention.

I have become interested in writing my own custom experimental license for most new software I write for side-projects. The basic idea of the license is to require any person interested in the software (e.g., having read about it on social media, or in descriptions on GitHub, or via references on the Apache server) to contact me (or any other major contributor to the software) on a one-on-one basis, by email or in real life, in order to be eligible to receive the binaries and/or the source code. Notice, therefore, that it will not be an open-source license. I could expound on my reasons for making this decision, but suffice it to say, I've discovered a new priority for my personal software development: since I have developed so much software over the years, it is no longer necessary, nor desirable, for me to share the fruits of my labor freely and openly under the GPL, without a second thought, so that strangers may install the software and peruse the source code without my knowing. Rather, I am at the point in my life where it would be far more meaningful and desirable to incentivize back-and-forth discussion and collaboration as much as possible. I will work on this some more and post the new license here sooner or later. If you want any part of this (reviewing the license, catching loopholes, etc.), then... you know what to do.

Full Text

Version 1 ("Strong Speak-to-me License"): Redistribution Prohibited

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COPYRIGHT <YEAR> <HOLDERS>
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No person or entity shall receive a copy of this software, whether in source
code or in binary form, without abiding by all of the following provisions:
  1.  receiving written approval from one of the MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS (listed
      below);
  2.  preserving this copyright notice.

Any person or entity having followed the above precepts and received the
software legally is then permitted to use, modify, or make private copies of the
software. However, such person is prohibited from publishing, redistributing, or
sublicensing the software. If you received this software without receiving this
confirmation email, please report it to the Major Contributors!

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND
ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE
DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR
ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
(INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES;
LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON
ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
(INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS
SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

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MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS
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...

Contact

chocorho -- [email protected]