[Eg-oversight-board] Fwd: review of Events Manager Pro ticketing solution

[Kathy Lussier]

Hi all,

Forwarding this message along to the EOB list since it will probably be 
under discussion at today's meeting.

Kathy

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	review of Events Manager Pro ticketing solution
Date: 	Thu, 18 Dec 2014 13:05:02 -0500
From: 	Tony Sebro <tony at sfconservancy.org>
To: 	evergreen at sfconservancy.org <evergreen at sfconservancy.org>



Hi, all.

I've been in communication with Buzzy, Kathy, and others as they have
investigated using Events Manager Pro[1] as a possible replacement for
Eventbrite as a conference ticketing solution.  Events Manager Pro is a
WordPress plug-in with a proprietary add-on.  Their proprietary
license[2] raised a red flag for us:  while Wordpress plugins are
supposed to be GPLv2-compatible, we know that the WordPress community
has seen a lot of GPL violations and has had a tough time dealing with
them.

Conservancy staff spent the past few days reviewing the license
situation of both Events Manager (the base plug-in) and Events Manager
Pro.  We still need more time to complete our analysis.  But, we're far
enough along to say that there is a definite (at least 50-50) chance
that Evergreen/Conservancy could not use Events Manager Pro without
violating GPLv2.  We also know enough to conclude that if they aren't
violating the GPL, we're at least sure they're playing right at the
bleeding edge of it -- which has its own set of concerns as well.

Now, in the past, we've used Eventbrite as Evergreen's ticketing
solution.  While we weren't thrilled about using a proprietary solution,
Eventbrite was free-as-gratis (thanks to their sponsorship and in-kind
donation); and, we had vetted their Ts and Cs and knew we could comply
with their proprietary license.  In contrast, there's a good chance that
use of Events Manager Pro represents a license violation.  Given
Evergreen's public support of GPL compliance, we certainly want to work
with you to avoid the collective embarrassment of being involved in a
GPL violation.

So, going forward, I think we have a few options:
1) Go back to using Eventbrite.
2) Identify another ticketing solution with a license (FLOSS or
proprietary) that we can comply with.  Kathy and Buzzy indicated that
they have not been able to find a full-featured FLOSS solution, so we
understand if this could lead to the use of another proprietary solution.
3) If Evergreen really wants to use Events Manager Pro (Kathy has
indicated that Events Manager Pro has features that Eventbrite
doesn't):  Conservancy staff will need more time before Evergreen starts
registration to complete our analysis to confirm whether it complies
with the GPL.

FYI, I've reached out to Eventbrite, and I'm waiting to see if they'll
extend their support of Conservancy project conferences in 2015.  I'll
keep the conference committee posted.

We know that time is short, and that the conference committee is eager
to start registrations.  If you have any questions, let me know.

Best,
-Tony


[1] http://eventsmanagerpro.com/
[2] http://eventsmanagerpro.com/terms-conditions/

-- 
Tony Sebro, General Counsel, Software Freedom Conservancy
+1-212-461-3245 x11
tony at sfconservancy.org
www.sfconservancy.org




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