Selling ModX plugins, modules etc...

Hi there, I’ve searched around and haven’t actually found the answer I’m looking for yet. Are we allowed to sell ModX modules and plugins we have created?

Thanks
*.* Sherri

There is no commercial extensions for MODx that I know of, but yes you can sell MODx modules, plugins or snippet you have created.
You’ll have to set this up on your own, I guess, and provide support too.

Under the GPL, you can even charge a fee for distribution of MODx itself, as long as you don’t claim it’s yours. Of course nobody in their right mind would pay to download it from your site when they can download it here for free, but you do have the right to do so if you wish.

From the GPL:

When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not
price. Our General Public Licenses are designed to make sure that you
have the freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge for
this service if you wish), that you receive source code or can get it
if you want it, that you can change the software or use pieces of it
in new free programs; and that you know you can do these things.

I once heard that the GPL is "contagious", which means that any new software which is written for/with GPL software automatically falls under the GPL too. But I’m not sure about that. The question of MODx-business models, however, seems to be relevant, so this should be cleared. Personally I wouldn#t like to see a fork of "commercial" plugins etc. coming up. You share it with the community or you keep it for yourself. I don’t know how successful the commercial Joomla-module vendors are, but I know that they came into play after J! being adopted by lots of commercial users (i.e. companies).
Just found this: http://www.oreillynet.com/onjava/blog/2005/11/to_lgpl_or_not_to_lgpl.html

One of the things that I’d like to (eventually) get around to doing is creating a commercial MODx marketplace where a portion of the proceeds goes back to support the project. But to answer your question, of course you can sell things that tie into MODx.

Quote from: silent at Aug 18, 2006, 10:23 AM

Personally I wouldn’t like to see a fork of "commercial" plugins etc. coming up. You share it with the community or you keep it for yourself.

Well, if money is required to motivate the creation or support of a plugin or other add-on then it’s better for the community for that to be available for x quid than for it to be just used on the developer’s site.

And on the other hand, it is better for the community if an author creates a valuable plugin *that works with MODx* rather than being compelled to create a stand-alone application.

I think what you’re saying is that you wouldn’t *use* a commercial plugin. Fair enough, that’s your choice.

For the record, the license options in the Repository are:
GPL - GNU Public
LGPL
BSD
MIT
Public Domain
Creative Commons
Artistic
Free
Demo
Shareware
Commercial
Other

Oh, and "blank".

I don’t know what the breakdown of licence types is - I suspect many are blank. That may be an interesting thing to track.

Quote from: silent at Aug 18, 2006, 10:23 AM

I once heard that the GPL is "contagious", which means that any new software which is written for/with GPL software automatically falls under the GPL too. But I’m not sure about that. The question of MODx-business models, however, seems to be relevant, so this should be cleared. Personally I wouldn#t like to see a fork of "commercial" plugins etc. coming up. You share it with the community or you keep it for yourself. I don’t know how successful the commercial Joomla-module vendors are, but I know that they came into play after J! being adopted by lots of commercial users (i.e. companies).
Just found this: http://www.oreillynet.com/onjava/blog/2005/11/to_lgpl_or_not_to_lgpl.html

Not exactly true. If you actually use GPL code in your program, then yes, the whole thing must be GPL. If you use a GPL program, such as the GCC compiler, to create your program, then no, your program does not need to be GPL. The LGPL is similar, except it allow you to link to the LGPL program, or use it from your program, as long as you are not actually embedding the code in your program.

For example, in my KoopsMailinglistX snippet/module, I basically just reworked the GPL Koops Mailinglist program. Therefor, even though I usually release my work to the Public Domain (that is, give up all rights to it) I am obliged to release it as GPL.

On the other hand, the TinyMCE rich text editor is released under the LGPL. This means that you can include it in any application you like, but your application does not need to be GPL or LGPL, since you are only calling the editor from your program, not actually using the code in your program.

Thanks Susan, for this explanation!
However I do think that the GPL stuff comes from an era where the difference between source and binaries was important, if not crucial. With PHP, we do not have that distinction anymore. I wonder if this issue was resolved.
(and where to find a reliable explanation of this resolution!)
And, for your example: Your mailing-list under GPL - what’s the difference to "giving up all rights"?
You cannot give up rights you do not have, so what could Koop have still to do with your MODx-port?
It’s an annoying subject, anyway. Any lawyers in the forum here?

Quote from: silent at Aug 18, 2006, 10:23 AM

Personally I wouldn#t like to see a fork of "commercial" plugins etc. coming up. You share it with the community or you keep it for yourself. I don’t know how successful the commercial Joomla-module vendors are, but I know that they came into play after J! being adopted by lots of commercial users (i.e. companies).[/url]

I can understand that you wouldn’t want to pay for commercial mods, but there are a lot of people who would want to pay for a useful mod that is supported. I do know there a lot of successful mod vendors for cubecart, and some of them give away the mods, however if you want to remove the copyright notice, or have access to support for the mod then you would need to pay.

One of the things that I’d like to (eventually) get around to doing is creating a commercial MODx marketplace where a portion of the proceeds goes back to support the project. But to answer your question, of course you can sell things that tie into MODx.

I think that is a wonderful idea! Right now I create custom mods on an as-needed basis for clients, but some of them could be packaged up as modules or plugins for others to use. In a perfect world I wouln’t have to worry about paying bills and could share all of my work for free, but with the time involved in developing and supporting mods it’s just not feasible. I think having a ModX marketplace would fill that niche for people willing to pay for commercial mods, and the fact that some of the proceeds supports the MODx project will definitely help the community, both developers and users.

Basically, I find this idea only as "wonderful" as to the degree it might contribute to MODx’ success and funding.
Just keep in mind: without the FREE MODx you wouldn’t even had a chance to develop a plugin or a snippet or a whatever!
Usually, when you develop an addition for a client, the client pays for it. And, of course, there’s always the temptation to get into the M$-business of selling licenses. But, I think, that does not apply to MODx additions, of what kind ever, as well as it does not apply to MODx itself. Compare a "plugin" to a real standalone piece of software!
(Ditto might be different - as far as I can see it’s a subsystem in its own right which may also be ported to other solutions than MODx - but I can be completely wrong here.)
No one will or can prevent you from selling MODx-components. I can only say that J! lost a lot of reputation when it got confused between the opensource and the "pay-for-every-module" model. For me, that was the reason to stop using it at all. I fear that MODx might encounter similar experiences, so that’s what I try to avoid, and that’s why I’m writing this...