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[Thread #878 for this sub, first seen 19th Jul 2024, 06:45] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]
For me, the license stuff is odd. They offer a license model with two tiers (user / server), yet the license seems to do nothing (except showing a little badge). Also, it is a one time payment which will likely not be substantial in the future.
Why not create a "supporter" tier for maybe $2 per month or so, this would bring some recurring income without the fears of paywalling the product.
They already accept donations as a means of continuous support. So I guess this is now just another channel for people who prefer buying a license over using github donations.
Edit: oh I just realized they stopped donations with the restructuring. Ok, that's weird then.
EDIT: they've adjusted the language and integration of buying the Immich software. It's much clearer and balanced now. You can find the new info on their github announcements page, or likely in the notes of their next immich release.
ORIGINAL COMMENT
I was really looking forward to them opening a compensation option as I got in after they had taken down donation links, but this is all a bit weird. There is some good discussion happening on the github announcement page. I'll probably hold at version 1.108 for awhile until the dust settles.
I've gone through quite a few FUTO videos since they started sponsoring Immich, and it seems like the issue is that they are essentially an organization of engineers that don't have a strong background in the legalese of licensing (thus the lack of attention to the wording of the original FUTO temporary license). Their intentions and goals are solid from my perspective and the software they promote is fantastic, but it feels very much like an org run by idealistic engineers without much of a PR presence. The best PR they have is Louis Rossman, take that as you will 😄
All that being said, I have paid for a few of their other pieces of software that are single user. The part I'm not overly fond of is that it seems to be a payment for each individual user, and not a payment to be able to run the server itself. I'm sure there is rational behind it, but it just feels like this whole licensing element isn't fully baked yet.
From Discord
Copy this to custom CSS in the adminpanel and the license banner is gone:
.license-status{
display:none !important;
}
It is possible to set the status to licensed too vua the database, but I didn't try it.
I hope it will only be this banner. Kavita has had a donation button too and 2 updates further it was a floating button. The whole thing about licensing is heavily discussed on Discord.
I just hope they don't destroy this beautiful product.
Immich joined FUTO, and FUTO's model is that their stuff costs money but if you haven't paid you're not restricted.
A bit weird but they (FUTO) are trying to experiment with a new model.
FUTO is the same organization that doesn't believe in Foss. The want one creator to have power over users. I don't think that model is going to work out.
That's not quite their position. They believe the OSI decides what counts as Open Source based on what benefits big tech who fund them. Basically, they think it's wrong to argue that something cannot be considered open source unless Google is allowed to use the free labour of contributers without restriction or payment.
They talk more about it here and here.
Personally I don't have a side in this fight but nothing I have seen has made me shy away from using their products.
Tbh it's the English language that decides what counts as Open Source. Free/Open Source software has been established for decades at this point. It's good that they changed the name to "Source First".
I think that better wording would be "the organization that doesn't believe that foss solves every problem". For project like immich AGPL is completely fine but for the android keyboard it might not be a good idea to allow Google to use it to abuse their customers.
It isn't open source or free software. There software prevents you from having the same rights as the parent organization. You can't fork the project if there is a big development shift you don't like so it is effectively proprietary.
Yes you can, you just cant change the payment links
Sorry I though you were talking about Grayjay.
I am
Yep and eventually there will be a paid proprietary version. That's usually how it goes. I hope I am wrong.
They promised at least that's not how they're going to do this, at least. But in the end, it's easy to backpaddle on these promises.
Still: you can always fork the project.
Who is? That's the problem with forks. They always divide the community into slices
I don't think that there'll be a community for a project that turned proprietary.
Declaring the use without a paid license as “Unlicensed” is very misleading since the project is also licensed under the GNU AGPL v3.0.
I’ll repeat here what I said on discord:
I’m no fan of stallman, but I like his quote: “I’m happy to pay for good software so long as it’s free”.
It’s important to remember that anyone with the skill to work on this project could earn a pretty good living elsewhere. We can debate the terminology, but at the end of the day devs gotta eat.
Personally, so long as it stays on the GPL they can call us “god-kings” and “filthy peasants” for all I care
Important bits that came up in the discord and I haven’t seen here:
- User license is only there to make it cheaper for small instances.~~No word I’ve seen on transitioning from a user license to a server license down the road.~~ Looks like you can switch by contacting them, and they have plans to do it automatically in the future.
- It looks like enforcement is basically nonexistent. You could activate multiple servers with one license, or just flip a value in the db yourself
- The reason they aren’t using “supporter” or “contributor” is because they don’t want it to sound like charity. It’s a transaction.
Immich is free software. That means anyone can fork and maintain the code and they have the same rights as everyone. Trying to squeeze money out of people is slimy. They should either stay a community project and ask for donations to fund it (paid versions count as donations as long as there isn't extra exclusive features implemented in non libre code) or they could start a company that sell backups and support.
Selling copies of free software is straight up encouraged by the FSF. You don't have to buy a copy. You can copy the source code and build t yourself. But selling it is legitimate.
I don't have problems with selling software. I do have a problem with what FUTO is doing. The just up ended a perfectly good financial model and make the "licensing" feel like Windows server.
I wanted to like immich but I hate the way it imports images and creates its own structure.
It’s had an external library feature for awhile now
Is feel a lot better about this if it was a "supporter" tag not this "unlicensed" crap.
Yeah this terminology just gives me the impression they don't consider the AGPL to an actual license
It also raises red flags about what they (hopefully don't) have in mind for the future
Nothing like that is ever acceptable to show up on the dashboard of a service I am self hosting. Will not update Immich anymore unless they remove this garbage.