Ask HN: Questions about using open source software for a SasS business.

[justcheck]

I am trying to determine what open source licenses (GPL/AGPL etc) offer the most flexibility for commercial SaaS offerings:

If you use open source software to offer a hosted SaaS solution commercially to customers, are you also required to

a) Give the users an option to download the original open source software? b) Disclose that you are using an open source software for the site? c) What if the software is modified and customized?

Note : The software will only reside on the server and the users will not normally have access to it. We may also modify the software to offer additional features.

Thanks!

[tdubbed]

It does depend on the license used. Some licenses ensure that any code changes must be released publicly. This is why Apple has rewritten a number of Apple internals so that they can be used under a bsd license

[justcheck]

So just to confirm - does this imply that a BSD license does not require you to release any modifications publicly? And does not require you to link to the source files if you are using it to run a SaaS business?

[paulhauggis]

If it's GPL 2.0, no. If it's 3.0 (or AGPL), yes.

[justcheck]

Ok, thanks!