View source for RetroWikipedia:Software licenses

{{Information page}}

On the English RetroWikipedia, most articles about software have a template called {{tl|Infobox software}}. One of the parameters that this template has is {{para|license}}. '''This parameter is sometimes filled in incorrectly'''.

==Correct usage of the license parameter==

The <code>license</code> parameter should contain '''the name of the license''' that the software is released under.

As described in the article [[Software license]], such licenses either ''allow or restrict certain actions'' with regard to the software. Examples of such licenses include:

*A [[GNU_Project|GNU]] license{{snd}}[[Free software]] licenses which usually also incorporate [[copyleft]] to ensure any copied code remains ''free as in freedom''. A common GNU license is the GNU General Public License (GPL). The specific version used should be specified.
*A [[BSD license]]{{snd}}There are multiple, and the specific license should be specified wherever possible. BSD licenses are also free software licenses, but do not incorporate copyleft.
*[[Public domain]]{{snd}}This is not a license; it is a lack of a license. However, it is correct to write this in the <code>license</code> parameter if a piece of software is public domain.
*A [[proprietary license|proprietary]] license{{snd}}Often, these do not have names at all; in that case, simply write <code><nowiki>[[Proprietary license|Proprietary]]</nowiki></code> in the <code>license</code> parameter. If the license does have a name, whether or not it is specified in the infobox is largely irrelevant in this specific case{{snd}}a proprietary license is a proprietary license; while they may not be comparable in wording, they usually impose the same sorts of restrictions on the user. 

A useful resource is the [https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html GNU.org list of licenses].

=== Example ===
If the software is released under the [[GNU_General_Public_License#Version_3|GNU GPL v3]], then the infobox's license parameter would contain that information, as below:
{{align|left|{{infobox software
| name = Example software released under GNU GPL v3
| logo = [[File:Down_left_arrow_Hexagonal_Icon.svg|120px|Logo]]
| developer = Example Developer
| released = {{CURRENTYEAR}}
| license = [[GNU_General_Public_License#Version_3|GNU GPL v3]]
| website = {{URL|http://www.example.com}}
}}
}}
{{clear}}
In [[Help:Editing#Edit screen(s)|source editing]] mode, the above appears as:

<code><nowiki>
{{infobox software
</nowiki><br /><nowiki>
| name = Example software released under GNU GPL v3
</nowiki><br /><nowiki>
| logo = [[File:Down_left_arrow_Hexagonal_Icon.svg|120px|Logo]]
</nowiki><br /><nowiki>
| developer = Example Developer
</nowiki><br /><nowiki>
| released = {{CURRENTYEAR}}
</nowiki><br /><nowiki>
| license = [[GNU_General_Public_License#Version_3|GNU GPL v3]]
</nowiki><br /><nowiki>
| website = {{URL|http://www.example.com}}
</nowiki><br /><nowiki>
}}</nowiki></code>

Note: ''<code><nowiki>{{CURRENTYEAR}}</nowiki></code> is a "[[WP:MAGICWORD|magic word]]" used to display the current year on a page, which is dynamically updated. In articles, the date of the software's release should go in this parameter. The template {{tlx|Start date and age}} should be used, which automatically displays the amount of time since the date entered into it.''

==Incorrect usage of the license parameter==

If the only text present in the <code>license</code> parameter is not ''the name of a software license'', the parameter is being used incorrectly. Examples include:

*"<code><nowiki>[[Free software]]</nowiki></code>", "<code><nowiki>[[Free software|Free/libre software]]</nowiki></code>", or similar. It is unlikely that the developer of the software would not specify ''which'' free software license they are using; simply saying "this is free software" is insufficient from a legal standpoint. The software will usually come with a license file that specifies it. While having this text in the <code>license</code> parameter is acceptable ''as a placeholder'', it should be replaced as soon as possible. It is recommended to place a [[WP:COMMENT|comment]] in the parameter, after the text, indicating it is a placeholder: <code><nowiki><!--Placeholder text; should be replaced with name of specific license as soon as possible--></nowiki></code>.
*"<code><nowiki>[[GNU GPL]]</nowiki></code>". The specific version should be mentioned; it should also be ensured that the license in question is actually the GNU General Public License itself, rather than the [[GNU Lesser General Public License]] (GNU LGPL) or [[GNU Affero General Public License]] (GNU AGPL), which themselves also have different versions. 
*"<code><nowiki>[[BSD license]]</nowiki></code>". As mentioned above, there are multiple BSD licenses; if the developer has not specified which one, a possible solution is to write "An unspecified [[BSD license]]" in the <code>license</code> parameter. If possible, contacting the developer and informing them of the problem is advisable, but this is unrelated to RetroWikipedia.
*"<code><nowiki>[[Open source software|Open source]]</nowiki></code>". As with simply writing "Free software", this is {{em|not a license name}}. 
*"<code><nowiki>[[Commercial software|Commercial]]</nowiki></code>" (and variants such as "<code><nowiki>[[Commercial software|Paid]]</nowiki></code>"), as well as "<code><nowiki>[[Freeware]]</nowiki></code>" and similar. That the developer charges for, or does not charge for, copies of their program is unrelated to this parameter. {{em|If desired}}, whether the software is [[wikt:gratis#English|gratis]] or commercial can be specified in the <code>license</code> parameter {{em|below}} the name of the license. Example: "<code><nowiki>[[GNU GPL v3]]<br />[[Commercial software|Commercial]]</nowiki></code>". <code><nowiki><br /></nowiki></code> adds a [[newline|line break]] and should be used so that the two separate pieces of text do not appear on the same line.

== See also ==
* [[Template:Infobox software]]{{snd}}The template this information page is for
* [[Template:Not a license]]{{snd}}An inline cleanup template used to tag text in the <code>license</code> parameter of [[Template:Infobox software]] which is not a license name