Toast Driven

So I had planned on writing about choosing a license for your software. But in the spirit of due diligence, I came across (again) an article by Jeff Atwood that does a better job than I was planning to do. It's pretty short, direct to the point and very worthwhile. So if you didn't click, do so now.

So instead of that, I'm going to try (and likely fail) to start a meme: What is your favorite software license and why?

Without a doubt, the MIT license is my favorite license and the one I use for virtually everything I release these days. It's my favorite because it's simple, clear and able to be used virtually anywhere, proprietary or not.

I hate reading legalese and I don't like getting screwed over by clauses buried in a EULA, which pretty much cover the first two reasons. And I don't like viral licenses like the GPL because it limits where and when the software can be used. This succeeds in the spirit of Free Software but, in my opinion, fails in the spirit of open source. The MIT license feels like a gentlemen's agreement and I'm good with that.