Theme Repository Requirements – GPL and premium themes

  • dancer

    (@dancer)


    14 years, 9 months ago

    I am wondering what exactly are the WordPress “laws” regarding what theme developers can have on their own Web site.

    The Theme Repository has this blurb:
    “If you want your theme to be proprietary or promote things that violate WordPress’ license on your site, the directory probably isn’t the best home for your work.”

    What does that mean? I read it to mean that promoting and linking to non-GPL WordPress themes is not allowed. What about GPL themes? Are we allowed to have links to paid/premium GPL themes on our Web site? Are we allowed to have links to free (as in money) GPL themes on our Web site? Are we allowed to have AdSense on our Web site? What is the issue with? Money or GPL?

    When I first submitted a theme several months ago to the Repository, I was told that I was not allowed to have a single link to a paid theme on my site even in a different subdomain from my theme demo site. It wasn’t specified that the problem was with non-GPL themes and sounded like all paid themes, but the blurb above sounds like linking to paid themes should be okay if they’re GPL.

    My Web site had a link to one single paid theme in one of my blog posts, not obtrusive nor spammy, and it was a theme I was planning to use myself for my blog. So I do not know what this means. If I want to have a theme in the WordPress Repository, then I can’t link to or use any paid or non-GPL themes anywhere on my Web site?

    I came across several blog discussions about this subject and now I have spent several hours reading about the intricacies of GPL and differing interpretations, and I’ve spent a gazillion more hours unsuccessfully browsing free GPL themes to find one for my own use since I am not sure I’m allowed to use the one I wanted to use.

    So I don’t know about this issue of freedom and who is restricting whose freedom. As a person who just wants to put up a Web site and blog, I don’t think any of the paid non-GPL theme designers have restricted any of my relevant freedoms, but it seems like WordPress won’t even let me be free to use what theme I want and down to what links I can put anywhere on my Web site.

Viewing 1 replies (of 1 total)
  • Shivanand Sharma

    (@varun21)

    14 years, 5 months ago

    hmm… my theme was removed because my site contained an advertisement for a commercial/non-GPL theme.

    So basically after all my research I find that the theme reviewers job also covers reviewing the site of the developer and reviewing the school of thoughts, ideology, the acts they subscribe to. And if they feel that what you do on your site is not up to their taste, they will not publish your work.

    So they love pizza. They distribute pizza. I love pizza and I cook and distribute pizza too from their outlet.

    But I cook/make burgers too and distribute at my own outlet. And the pizza lover doesn’t like burgers. So they won’t let me distribute my pizza from their outlet.

    Wierd analogy. But on our part it’s nothing more than http://xkcd.com/386/ bickering. I respect the free spirit of GPL and their spirit of freedom. But looks like someone has to go back to school to study what GNU means by :
    To understand the concept, you should think of “free” as in “free speech,” not as in “free beer.”

    So much for “free”. Read this before this is deleted.

Viewing 1 replies (of 1 total)
  • The topic ‘Theme Repository Requirements – GPL and premium themes’ is closed to new replies.