Forked Communities Project Relicensing and Co - Common Knowledge Scout

# Forked Communities Project Re-licensing Impact > [! note]- > The content of this page is generated by audio/video transcription and text transformation from the content and links of this source. Source: [https://fosdem.org/2025/schedule/event/fosdem-2025-5258-forked-communities-project-re-licensing-and-community-impact/](https://fosdem.org/2025/schedule/event/fosdem-2025-5258-forked-communities-project-re-licensing-and-community-impact/) <video src="https://video.fosdem.org/2025/janson/fosdem-2025-5258-forked-communities-project-re-licensing-and-community-impact.av1.webm" controls></video> ## Summary & Highlights: **Introduction to Forked Communities** The session delves into the phenomenon of relicensing in open source projects, where companies change the licensing terms of their software, often leading to the creation of forks. The panelists discuss the impact of such changes on the community of contributors and users, providing insights into the dynamics of relicensing and its consequences. **Corporate Influence and Relicensing** The discussion highlights how many open source projects are driven by corporations that, under economic pressure, may choose to relicense their projects to more restrictive terms. This decision is often made without clear evidence of financial benefit and can lead to significant community upheaval, including the creation of forks. **Case Studies and Community Impact** Several case studies are explored, including Elasticsearch, Terraform, and Redis, illustrating how relicensing has led to forks like OpenSearch and OpenTofu. The panelists analyze the contributor dynamics before and after relicensing, emphasizing the importance of community diversity and the challenges faced by users and contributors in these transitions. **Contributor and User Perspectives** The session examines the perspective of contributors and users, stressing the importance of governance, diversity, and the role of corporate influence in open source projects. It discusses how potential contributors assess projects based on these factors and the implications for project health and sustainability. **Future Directions and Ethical Considerations** The panelists conclude with reflections on the future of open source licensing and community building, considering the ethical implications of relicensing and the potential for new licensing models that better support community interests. They emphasize the need for ongoing research and dialogue to navigate these complex issues. ## Importance for an eco-social transformation This session is highly relevant for an eco-social transformation as it addresses the ethical and social implications of corporate influence in open source projects. The discussion on relicensing and forks highlights the need for sustainable community practices and diverse contributor bases to ensure the longevity and health of open source ecosystems. Eco-social designers can apply these insights by advocating for transparent governance models and promoting community-driven projects. Challenges include navigating corporate pressures and ensuring equitable contributions from diverse stakeholders. Open questions remain on how to balance corporate interests with community needs and the role of licensing in fostering sustainable development. ## Slides: | | | | --- | --- | | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Forked-Communities-Project-Relicensing-and-Communi/preview_001.jpg\|300]] | The first slide introduces the panelists: Stephen Walli from Microsoft's Azure Office of the CTO, Dawn Foster from CHAOSS, Brian Proffitt from Red Hat, and Ben Ford from Overlook InfraTech. The session, titled 'Forked Communities: Project Re-licensing and Community Impact,' sets the stage for discussing how relicensing affects open source communities and the resulting forks. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Forked-Communities-Project-Relicensing-and-Communi/preview_002.jpg\|300]] | The second slide presents data on the impact of relicensing on various projects. It shows the contributor dynamics before and after relicensing for projects like Elasticsearch, Terraform, and Redis. The data highlights the dominance of company employees in contributions and the changes following forks, such as OpenSearch and OpenTofu, with varying levels of community involvement. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Forked-Communities-Project-Relicensing-and-Communi/preview_003.jpg\|300]] | The third slide provides links for further reading and related articles. It includes Stephen Walli's Medium article on forked communities, CHAOSS data science publications, Vox Pupuli's blog on OpenVox, and RedMonk's analysis of software licensing changes. These resources offer additional insights into the topics discussed in the session. ## Links [Stephen Walli's Medium Article](https://medium.com/@stephenrwalli/forked-communities-whose-property-is-it-anyway-2ddee71f2ef1) [CHAOSS Data Science Publications](https://github.com/chaoss/wg-data-science/tree/main/publications) [Vox Pupuli Blog - OpenVox Release](https://voxpupuli.org/blog/2025/01/21/openvox-release) [Vox Pupuli OpenVox](https://voxpupuli.org/openvox) [RedMonk Article on Software Licensing](https://redmonk.com/rstephens/2024/08/26/software-licensing-changes-and-their-impact-on-financial-outcomes) [The New Stack - Open Source Forking Issue](https://thenewstack.io/why-open-source-forking-is-a-hot-button-issue) [The New Stack - Relicensed Projects and Forks](https://thenewstack.io/what-happens-to-relicensed-open-source-projects-and-their-forks)