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Mapbox-gl-js is no longer under the 3-Clause BSD license

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Re: Mapbox-gl-js is no longer under the 3-Clause BSD license

#4
post #3

Well that sucks. Is this to try to clamp down on users circumventing subscriptions, or something else?

The weird part is that you were always violating your contract with Mapbox by circumventing their billing code[0], so now you just have a copyright violation added on top of that. The way to bypass it is identical to what it was before.

But, the big change is in their issue[1] they opened about it:

> Can I still use self-hosted map tiles?

> Yes. Developers simply need a Mapbox account and access token to use this v2.

>

> Can I use data or tiles from Google Maps or other non-Mapbox services?

> Yes. GL JS is fully interoperable with third party map sources that provide vector or raster tiles in supported formats. Usage of v2 is billed by Map Load to the Mapbox account owner. The license terms make no distinction between data sources.

They're charging for Mapbox GL JS, even if you don't actually use their tiles.

[0]: https://github.com/mapbox/mapbox-gl-js/blob/c7ed000f6d628531...

[1]: https://github.com/mapbox/mapbox-gl-js/issues/10162

Re: Mapbox-gl-js is no longer under the 3-Clause BSD license

#6
post #5

"This license allows developers with a current active Mapbox account to use and modify the Mapbox Web SDK." "This license terminates automatically if a user no longer has an active Mapbox account." - https://github.com/mapbox/mapbox-gl-js/blob/main/LICENSE.txt

also

> Can I use data or tiles from Google Maps or other non-Mapbox services?

> Yes. GL JS is fully interoperable with third party map sources that provide vector or raster tiles in supported formats. Usage of v2 is billed by Map Load to the Mapbox account owner. The license terms make no distinction between data sources.

They're charging for Mapbox GL JS, even if you don't actually use their tiles.

https://github.com/mapbox/mapbox-gl-js/issues/10162

Re: Mapbox-gl-js is no longer under the 3-Clause BSD license

#8
Link to the new LICENSE terms https://github.com/mapbox/mapbox-gl-js/blob/v2.0.0/LICENSE.t...

IANAL, but it seems you can only use the library if you have an active account, and you can still modify the code except billing and analytics. The it links to the TOS ( https://www.mapbox.com/legal/tos ).

Re: Mapbox-gl-js is no longer under the 3-Clause BSD license

#9
Even with just 3666 daily loads, you will pay them 10 USD/day for using the code on your site! "Beginning with v2.0.0, a billable map load occurs whenever a Map object is initialized."

Under 50,001 monthly loads is free but after that it costs $5.00 per 1,000 loads: https://www.mapbox.com/pricing/

Re: Mapbox-gl-js is no longer under the 3-Clause BSD license

#10

Does this mean "private repo" closed source, or "don't copy paste our shit" closed source?

>Mapbox gl-js version 2.0 or higher (“Mapbox Web SDK”) must be used according to the Mapbox Terms of Service. This license allows developers with a current active Mapbox account to use and modify the Mapbox Web SDK. Developers may modify the Mapbox Web SDK code so long as the modifications do not change or interfere with marked portions of the code related to billing, accounting, and anonymized data collection. The Mapbox Web SDK only sends anonymized usage data, which Mapbox uses for fixing bugs and errors, accounting, and generating aggregated anonymized statistics. This license terminates automatically if a user no longer has an active Mapbox account.

See: https://github.com/mapbox/mapbox-gl-js/blob/main/LICENSE.txt

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