Free Software

Sensible currencies center around free software.

The entire toolchain of Sensible currencies is based on open source software, and that also applies to the software for the project itself. The software is free; it is available at no cost, and it maximally assures the freedoms of software users, at the expense of empire-building around closed software. This is possible thanks to donations from institutions such as NLnet.

Free software is the way to make code accessible to everyone, without fee or license, except for an obligation to share equally in case any changes are used. This last bit ensures that there can be free and open competition on business grounds, with maximum reuse of lessons learnt.

Sensible currencies as a whole benefits from such openness. It allows a fast pace of development, with maximum reuse and so, with minimal costs for the software that makes it happen.

The AGPL license v3 or later was selected for this work, so that any progress on the software that is put to use will automatically be shared with others. This avoids any risk of parties starting "special services" and form an effective reason for building a concentration of power based on more than mere quality of service. In other words, the AGPL license is used to protect the peer-to-peer situation and, as a result, free trade.