Relicensing to MIT/Apache-2.0

[arxanas]

Hi everyone, as you may know, git-branchless was licensed as GPL-2.0-only so that it could use Sapling SCM's DAG implementation (see #65). It was always my intention to license the program source code itself more permissively, but the resulting program (when linked against a GPL library) becomes GPL-licensed as a whole. This is confusing to explain and implement, so I simply licensed the whole program under GPL 2.0.

The DAG library is licensed as MIT as of v0.3.0. After upgrading, we will no longer have any GPL dependencies. I am proposing that we relicense git-branchless to a dual MIT/Apache-2.0 license, so that we can reuse components in other systems such as Jujutsu (i.e. copy and paste some code one day). I've already started writing smaller modules licensed under MIT/Apache-2.0 to that end.

To relicense the program source code, I need the permission of those who made substantial code contributions. This approach comes from some other GNU project that did a big relicensing effort, whose name I can't remember.

I defined a "substantial code contribution" as 10 commits or a net positive 100 lines of code, only including changes to the program source code, not associated build code or scripts. Please don't take it personally if you are excluded — I appreciate even the small contributions! — but I picked the criterion arbitrarily and only then went to look at the corresponding users 🙂. This criterion includes these users:

• @arxanas: commits / permission granted
• @claytonrcarter: commits / permission granted
• @waych commits / permission granted
• @bcongdon commits / permission granted
• @wabain commits / permission granted
• @bcspragu commits / permission granted
• @rslabbert commits / permission granted

Full contributor stats

To move forward:

• If you are on the list above and comfortable relicensing to MIT/Apache-2.0, please comment your assent below.
• If you are a contributor and would like to decline the relicensing of your contribution or have other comments, please let me know.
• In accordance with the way that the one other GNU project did it, if I don't hear back from contributors after some period of time, I will eventually assume their assent by default.

Thanks everyone for your contributions to git-branchless!

[bcspragu]

@bcspragu commenting in assent of relicensing to MIT/Apache-2.0

[rslabbert]

@rslabbert assent of relicensing to MIT/Apache-2.0

[wabain]

@wabain assenting to relicensing to MIT/Apache-2.0

[bcongdon]

@bcongdon assenting to relicensing to MIT/Apache-2.0