NON-COMMERCIAL Extensions Joomla Redefinition

[jthunder]

It is very discouraging. Why? Call it a fraud !!

When an extension is said to be "Non-Commercial" - It means NON COMMERCIAL .... FREE..

Many developers and small vendors and using this word to fraudulently hook Joomla users to download the software and hopefully, users will pay to get it to run. I am not talking about all of developers, I am talking about a lot of them.

There are quite a handful of good developers who really do noncommercial gnu/gpl extensions for the public, but for those who publish an extension and describe it as non-commercial but requires payments, this subject has to be redefined and must be followed accordingly.

Extensions should be categorized as follows. Anybody who decides to mislead users would be barred from Joomla.
Demo - Only works as a demo and nothing else.
Free - This means completely free and anyone can download, install and use it without any additional keys, crypto, or request for x number of months subscription.
Non-Commercial - This means Non-Commercial, No Money required to use, No subscription to pay, GNU/GPL software, not for commercial use.
Commercial - This requires payment to download and use.

Joomla community should look at this.

[alikon]

i can quite agree with you, free should be mean no money at all
if you have found some of this kind of false free extensions please report back
someone of the JED team will take care of it

[jthunder]

Its hard to look back but there are tons of extensions here. Redefining the type will be the best idea because some developers are using the word non-commercial when in fact their extension is full commercial and most of the time not even working properly they way it is supposed to.

After its been redefined, there should be a button next to the extension to click to report it. This way, everyone will have the opportunity to voice their frustrations. We love Joomla and we don't want anyone to use its popularity to take advantage of its massive users.

[VinnyH]

It would just be nice to have at least a heads up on the hidden upgrades and costs.
Something can be free or non-commercial but it would help to see, in the description, a comment or icon for something like "Pro Upgrade, extended features $--" or "Support, if desired, $--"

Overall we have to do our reading and research so I'm happy to see everything offered.

Best to All,
VinnyH

[Tonie]

Joomla licensing is based on the GPL, software on JED should basically have the same license. That said, the Joomla project can create any rule they like for listing software, as it's not software itself. There are a few points that don't really mix with the GPL.

'Free' would be 'Free of charge', as free has multiple meanings in English.

'GPL', and 'not for commercial use' don't mix in the GPL as there is no clause that forbids commercial use of GPL software.

It's also not really possible to pay for the use of GPL software. If you get distributed software, you can basically install it on as many devices as you like. Now a developer can provide services that would could you money (online updates, for example)

In the end, it is your choice to pay for software and/or services, not somebody else.

A change about listing software is coming in the beginning of next year, more about that here: http://community.joomla.org/blogs/leade ... d-gpl.html