Since the topic of WordPress plugins & licensing came up in couple of other threads, I thought I should make a topic for it.
The issue is, that some people on GFY are writing plugins for WordPress, which is of course the fabulous
open source blogging software that's all the rage these days. The problem is that WordPress is licensed under the
GPL license, which basically says that if you use any of the functions, variables etc. of the blogging software in your plugin - AND distribute (read:
sell) that plugin, the plugin must be released under
a GPL-compatible license.
This basically means that if your plugin uses any of the WordPress variables or functions (and I can't think of any useful plugin that wouldn't) and you're distributing that said plugin, you are obliged to also release the source code to that plugin.
Now, I'm not about to sue anyone for not distributing the source code of their plugin. I'm just giving you guys a heads up - when dealing with open source software, you have to be extra careful with licensing. Although the GPL has never been properly tested in court, not paying attention to the licenses might bite you in the ass in the future if you're not careful.