Add contributors agreement #442
Description
In light of the possible collaboration with commercial entities, we should have a contributors agreement.
This a draft for the wiki -> developer documentation
Loosely based on what the KDE guys have:
https://kde.org/community/whatiskde/QtContributionLicenseAgreement-1-1.pdf
AsteroidOS Contributor Agreement
1. Purpose
This agreement defines how contributions (code, documentation, designs, etc.) to the AsteroidOS project are licensed and how decisions are made to maintain the project's open, community-driven nature.
2. Licensing of Contributions
All contributions must be licensed under the same open-source license as the AsteroidOS project ( GPLv2, GPLv3 or LGPLv3).
By contributing, you grant a perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive license for your contributions to be used, modified, and redistributed under the project's open-source license.
Contributors must ensure they have the right to contribute their work (i.e., no proprietary, NDA-protected, or patent-encumbered code).
3. No Special Privileges for Companies
Contributions from companies do not grant them any special control over the project.
All contributors, whether individuals or company employees, participate on equal terms.
No contributor can demand priority or exclusivity for their code.
4. Independence & No Obligations
The AsteroidOS project remains a volunteer-driven effort with no commercial obligations.
Contributors participate on their own time and with no expectation of compensation.
Contributions are accepted based on technical merit and community consensus, not corporate influence.
5. No Transfer of Ownership
Contributors retain copyright over their own contributions.
AsteroidOS and its maintainers cannot relicense contributions under a closed-source or restrictive license.
6. Decision-Making & Governance
The project remains independent and community-governed.
No single entity can dictate project direction, feature inclusion, or roadmap priorities.
Major decisions will continue to be discussed openly in the community.
7. No Dependency on External Entities
AsteroidOS will remain technically and legally independent from any company.
No contributor or organization can require AsteroidOS to depend on proprietary services, infrastructure, or APIs.
If a collaboration requires shared resources, exit strategies must be planned in advance to prevent lock-in.
8. Conflict Resolution
Disputes will be resolved through community discussion.
If a contributor’s actions harm the project's open nature, the community may vote to reject their future contributions.