Conversation

I am disappointed by the

policy change that prohibits selling open source software. The Store provides independent open source developers an opportunity to create sustainable projects by charging a reasonable amount there.

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Rafael Rivera

@WithinRafael

· Jul 6

New Microsoft Store policies, takes effect July 16 docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/ Some notable changes follow.

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Richard

@Ricker666

Jul 6

That's pretty poor. Cider, for example, charges in the MS Store as a way for people to support development. Meanwhile Microsoft is using open source code to make its paid for Copilot better.

Hayden Barnes

@unixterminal

Jul 6

I don't want to make this about Copilot. Microsoft is generally an excellent open source ecosystem participant and their Store policies are way better than the Play or Apple Store. This is just one policy change I think needs to be rethought.

ani betts

@anaisbetts

Jul 6

I suspect this was designed to catch scammers that lazily repackage FOSS software for $$, probably needs an exception for the copyright owners

Hayden Barnes

@unixterminal

Jul 6

I agree that is likely the intent, which I support. But reading this as a lawyer, the language as-is is too broad. It sweeps in legitimate open source apps for sale and theoretically proprietary apps with open source MIT/BSD-licensed dependencies.

Definitely agreed

Replying to

That's right, that was the intent. Really appreciate the feedback

@WithinRafael

@unixterminal

@anaisbetts

! We are listening, and we will look into clarifying the wording as soon as possible.

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Giorgio Sardo

@gisardo

· Jul 6

Replying to @unixterminal and @jeffwilcox

We absolutely want to support developers distributing successfully OSS apps. In fact there are already fantastic OSS apps in the Store! The goal of this policy is to protect customers from misleading listings. Thanks for feedback, we will review to make sure the intent is clear

5:55 PM · Jul 6, 2022Twitter Web App

Replying to

I'm the maintainer of the OSS Greenshot, this fits perfectly to the discussion: twitter.com/greenshot_tool I reported it, that person SEEMS to conflict the new conditional multiple times... I hope to see actions soon, and if you want to talk, my DMs should be open.

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Greenshot

@greenshot_tool

· Jul 7

We hope the newly added store policies will help: docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/ "Not attempt to profit from open-source". I hope this doesn't prevent us from selling Greenshot as App in the future, as we place a lot of time in it which is only possible if we get something in return.

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Siebzy

@siebznet

Jul 10

I use your tool every day and I hope you are able to continue maintaining it across platforms. thank you.

Software Freedom Conservancy

Replying to

We're skeptical of the “we're listening” shtick.

@Microsoft

often promulgates aggressive anti-FOSS policies (e.g. prior app store #copyleft ban) as a tactic. We advocate an entire rollback of this toxic policy.

sfconservancy.org

Microsoft To Ban Commercial Open Source from App Store

Microsoft Will Even Prohibit Charitable FOSS Fundraising Through the “Microsoft Store”A few weeks ago, Microsoft quietly updated its Microsoft [app] Store Policies, adding new policies (which go into...

ani betts

@anaisbetts

Jul 7

So, you think that people stealing Free software from its original authors and repackaging it as paid is....Good? I would think that you would be very much in Favor of stopping this practice

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Replying to

Why are you singling out FOSS here? The issue is whether they're violating trademark law or confusing customers. If someone says they're Inkscape, and they sell access to a copy of Inkscape, they're committing fraud and trademark infringement. Isn't that already covered?

Replying to

Under many FOSS licenses it is totally permissable for anyone to take the code, compile it, and charge for a copy, while still complying with the license the code was provided under. Not sure why MS needs to do more gatekeeping.