2022-02-06 16:54:23 +00:00
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# For Good, Not Evil ― An ELOS License Builder
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Since the penning of the GPL, Free and Open Source software has led the charge
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of software for a better world, and it splash it has made is unparalleled.
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The world of today is not the world our free software licenses were written for.
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The licenses we created to protect freedom are being taken advantage of by
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institutions like ICE and surveillance states to take away the freedom of others.
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**It's time to reclaim our software in the name of freedom.**
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This project is an ELOS, or **E**thically **L**icensed **O**pen **S**ource,
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license builder, for building licenses that help build a commons that nurtures
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freedom instead of taking it.
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We aim to spread awareness of the variety of different ELOS licenses that are
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out there, and help people find one that fits their needs. Hopefully, we can
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create an approachable license repository to help people get started in ELOS
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without needing to navigate the forest of licenses and legalese that might
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otherwise be a barrier.
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## Try it out!
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2022-02-06 17:56:01 +00:00
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We're not ready for release yet, but you can check out a demo at
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[goodnotevil.alchemi.dev](https://goodnotevil.alchemi.dev/)
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2022-02-06 16:54:23 +00:00
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## A brief aside about the project name
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We named our project "For Good, Not Evil ― An ELOS License Builder". Some might
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recognize the phrase, "For Good, Not Evil," from the JSON license.
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Arguably one of the first ELOS licenses, the JSON license (yes that JSON) is
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nearly identical to the MIT license, except for the addition of one small
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phrase.
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> The Software shall be used for Good, not Evil.
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This tiny phrase sparked a startling amount of controversy, including IBM
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explicitly acquiring a license to use JSON for Evil. [[source @ 39:45]][1]
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At some point in time, you have to wonder, why is it such a bold statement to
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not want to see your software used for evil, and what does it say about the
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state of open source that so many think such a thing is impossible?
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By using this phrase, we don't want to claim it as our own. To the contrary,
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nothing would make me happier than to see it used as a battle cry for any
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developers who are sick of being told that writing for the commons means giving
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up the hope of making a better world.
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[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C-JoyNuQJs
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## Building
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This project is built using Elm, Sass, and HTML. To build it on your own, you'll need to install
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- [elm](https://guide.elm-lang.org/install/elm.html)
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- [Sass](https://sass-lang.com/install) (`rubygem-sass` on Fedora)
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- [uglify-js](https://lisperator.net/uglifyjs/) (`uglify-js` on Fedora)
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- `make` (`make` on Fedora)
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Then, clone the git repo and run `make` to build the site to the `site/` directory
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For development, you may want to use the commands
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```bash
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ls src/**.elm | entr elm make src/Main.elm --output site/elm.min.js
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```
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and
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```bash
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sass --watch site/styles.scss
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```
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to automatically recompile assets as you work on the project.
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