A licence for developers who write open source code to make the world a better place
As developers we can no longer close our eyes to the fact that open source code is being used by individuals and organisations to the detriment of our society.
The Just World License is for developers that agree in general with the principles of open source software, but are uncomfortable with their software being used as part of efforts to destroy lives, our environment and our future.
In short, developers who use this license want their code to contribute to a just world for all.
This license is based on the BSD 3-clause license, but with specific exclusions for using licensed code to promote or profit from:
- violence, hate and division,
- environmental destruction,
- abuse of human rights,
- the destruction of people’s physical and mental health
This license was created by one of the developers of Raisely and Kepla. We grew out of Agency building software to help non-profit's and other organisations that make the world a better place.
As we built, we started creating libraries to solve problems we faced, and wanted to give back to the open source community (which our software is built on).
We strive every day to create tools that make the world a better place, and wanted to discourage misuse of the code we share for purposes that go against what we stand for and work for.
As with all things open source, we welcome suggestions and improvements. If you would like to suggest improvements, please open an issue.
We prefer additions that:
- Add clarity,
- Address an important issue that we have overlooked, and
- Are concise (don't require lengthy legal definitions, though we know this isn't always possible).
Issues that are opened in order to debate ideology, express climate skepticism, promote discrimination or divisiveness, etc will be closed.