I don’t want this to sound bad so I am not sure really how to put it. lol As a dev myself I understand the grind esp when it comes to OSS, and the need to make money somewhere!! However, the type of projects I am considering using grav for I would LOVE to not only contribute financially by purchasing premium - BUT - the premium licenses are too restrictive - for me. I NEVER use (at all), buy, or purchase any types of UI related component libraries or designs with licenses like these (read more below to understand what I mean by too restrictive) precisely becuase of the nature of the work I do.
I recently noticed (and am aware of the amount of work it took) to create premium components and themes that mimic the Likes of Nuxt (think Nuxt Content or Docus), however the entire Nuxt UI was recently Open Sourced by Vercel. I have been on the fence whether to use Nuxt or Grav in a few upcoming very large projects - while simultaneously favoring/leaning towards Grav - but knowing that whichever framework I choose would most definately lead to a large investment in volunteer time spent on the OSS framewoek itself.
In my own head, I know myself, that if the current premium licenses allowed for wider reuse (think theme generators, resellable custom themes) it would make Grav, at least to me, a no brainer. I would just jump on this train and hack away until I am so invested that it only makes sense to put work volunteering into the underlying OSS infrastructure (code). I know this is a lot to ask…but I just can’t help but wonder that - if I am thinking it, and it’s causng me to pause, other people might be thinking it and pausing here as well. And I was just wondering if @rhuk or the core team has ever considered this (making the licenses more permissive). It’s not so much about the money as it is about the licensing usage. I have no problems laying out some money if I know I can use it down the line for all the types of projects I may need it for and the types of projectes I typically create are not just always for my own sass products or single use client sites. I need that guarantee of freedom. Partly because I am not just a develoer but I am a designer as well.
I wonder if loosening up that license - a lot - even if you want to charge more - might bring some life back to this project as a whole and invite more devs lookng for a modern solution without the fear f they chose a modern core theme, it will limit them in the future, (as devs we like to re-use our components - everything - as much as humanly possible to save time, across a wide array of different projects and project types). While this would not be the only rason to “scare” me away from the platform alltogether - it def could be a deciding factor for extrememy large scale projects or for people who are loyal to their frameworks and like ot contribute. And that deciding factor could be the difference between having more devs willing to volunteer on a project and invest both time or money - or - push them right into the arms of other frameworks like Nuxt/NuxtUI (and similar) that can offer more freedom to build whatever they need to and future-proof them with the Component Libraries that match these needs.
I know many might not agree wit me or even understand where I am coming from. But I just thought I’d ask…Maybe instead of charging a license fee on a per project basis and giving it more permissive commercial reuse rights…like a couple hundred $$ - one time fee - for unlimited commercial use including reseller abilities (to create rsellable themes and such) might entice more people to volunteer. That said, even then, the licensing could still become an issue and make someone not want to contribute back to the UI components Library, they had to pay for when others will be paying into it well into the future for work they then contributed, while all future payments only go back to the original dev core team. I have literally seen this happen.
I also get that vercel is a very large organizationa nd can afford to do this (open surce teir entire component library) but the idea may still be worth considering. 9 components here compared to a massive library like Nuxt UI or Shadcn…is it better to stall the Grav OS community involvement just to make a few buck here and there? I have seen too many great frameworks and UI Libraries like Elixir and Petal UI suffer for these types of decisions…One can still make money and provide the future proff licensing that will draw devs in if the strategy is thought out and executed well. Just have to find the right balance. I have also seen this kind of balance executed well and when done right can lead to massive long term gains…
Anyways, Just my thoughts on some of the back and forth I find myself considering right now whether to use Grav and get involved in contributing here or just stay with Nuxt…If there are no modern themes to choose from (right now seems there are not many - less than an handful) and the most modern theme (which is a mjor selling point to onboard devs) from the core team has to restricted a commercial license, then what? I have to choose between rebuilding what the core team already built (it’s a major detractor but only 9 components so idk - still a lot of work tho) and then decide ok, so I rebuild my own but then that still doesn;t solve the problem of the lack of community involvelment. Right now there is one core dev? People want the quickness. lol. Even freeing up those 9 modern components could be a huge determining factor for those who just want to get up and running quickly anddon’t ven have a large project in mind like me. But the key here is to gain traction. And tracton has slowed down. This would be one way to renew it. IMHO anyway. Then those devs that started with smaller projects get invested (time wise) love the sfotware continue to expand and use it and end up half the time wanting to contribute by that point anyways since now they’vebecome so invested. Maybe not everyone will, but with traction, many will too.
But I digress. I guess i’m just still deciding between framworks atm. Maybe I will beocme the next biggest contributor. Cause if I end up choosing Grav for these next few projects it will be for the long haul. So it would only make sense. I guess coming from Nuxt myself, then i would just maybe have to re-create some of what the core team has already created in their premium theme with my own custom theme(s) to hopefully then use those to help bring some more tracrion. But I still don’t know what 'm doing. I still haven’t decided yet. Just thinking out loud here sorry!!
Anyways, Oh well. such a long post sorry bout that. Been up all night. Now I’m prob just rambling. so lemme shut up lol. IDK what I’m saying anymore lol.