I’ve been enjoying reading some of the responses to Zed Shaw’s Why I (A/L)GPL post.

Leaving all the back-story aside, the decision he’s reached for his future releases seems quite reasonable to me. If you respect the license and give back to the community, you can have it for free. If you don’t, you can pay for it. Ultimately however, it doesn’t matter whether I think it’s reasonable. He’s doing the creating, so he gets to make the call.

Which license you use for a project is a decision that needs to be thought about in a very clinical, mature way. Does your license choice line up with your expectations of what you want in return? Assume all you’ll get in return from the users of your project is the bare minimum required by the license. If that’s it, will you be happy? If so, great, go forth and release. If not, be honest with yourself about what it is you do want in return and choose a license that articulates those wants.

For people who use other people’s work, either free or commercial, in your projects, it’s ok to ask for something for free. After all, if you don’t ask you don’t get. It’s also OK to tell someone you disagree with their choice of license or business model. However, It’s not ok to feel entitled to something for free or to feel they have to listen to your opinion. If you want to make those kind of decisions for a project, then go create something yourself.