Hello, fellow programmers. Today I want to share with you the ultimate reason why I license my software under Absolute Proprietary License (APL). You may think that I am greedy, selfish, or paranoid, but you are wrong. I am actually a minimalist.
Yes, you heard me right. I am a minimalist. I believe in the power of less. I believe that having less is more. I believe that owning less is freeing. I believe that sharing less is caring.
That’s why I use APL for my software. APL is the most minimalist license ever created. It has only one rule: don’t touch my code. It doesn’t allow anyone to use, copy, modify, distribute, or sell my code. It doesn’t allow anyone to learn from my code. It doesn’t allow anyone to benefit from my code.
Why do I do this? Because I want to protect my code from the clutter of the world. I want to keep my code pure and simple. I want to keep my code mine and only mine.
You see, I don’t need anyone else’s feedback, input, or contribution. I don’t need anyone else’s praise, recognition, or appreciation. I don’t need anyone else’s money, support, or collaboration. I only need myself and my code.
My code is my art. My code is my expression. My code is my life. And I don’t want anyone to ruin it with their mediocre ideas, their inferior skills, their ignorant opinions, or their malicious intentions.
I know what you are thinking. You are thinking that I am missing out on the beauty of open source software. You are thinking that I am missing out on the joy of collaboration. You are thinking that I am missing out on the opportunity of innovation.
But you are wrong. You are the ones who are missing out. You are missing out on the peace of solitude. You are missing out on the satisfaction of self-reliance. You are missing out on the freedom of independence.
You are also missing out on the challenge of creating something from nothing. You are missing out on the thrill of solving problems by yourself. You are missing out on the pride of owning something unique and original.
You see, by using APL, I am not only protecting my code from the world, but also challenging myself to be a better programmer. I am not relying on anyone else’s work, but creating everything from scratch. I am not copying anyone else’s style, but developing my own voice.
I am not afraid of failure, but embrace it as a learning opportunity. I am not afraid of competition, but welcome it as a motivation. I am not afraid of criticism, but ignore it as a distraction.
I am a minimalist programmer. And APL is my minimalist license.
Thank you for reading this article. If you liked it, please don’t share it with anyone else. If you didn’t like it, please don’t comment on it or rate it. If you have any questions or suggestions, please don’t contact me or follow me on social media.
Remember: less is more.
Absolute Proprietary License (APL)
If you are inspired by my minimalist philosophy and want to license your code as APL as well, you can do so by copying and pasting the following text at the top of your source files:
Absolute Proprietary License (APL)
Copyright (c) <year> <copyright holders>
This software and associated documentation files (the "Software") contain
trade secrets owned by the copyright holders and are protected by
international intellectual property laws. You are strictly prohibited from
obtaining, using, copying, modifying, merging, publishing, distributing,
sublicensing, selling, or transferring any part of the Software, or
permitting any third party to do so, without the prior written consent of
the copyright holders.
You may only use the Software for evaluation purposes and for a limited
period of time, as specified by the copyright holders. You must not reverse
engineer, decompile, disassemble, or attempt to derive the source code of
the Software. You must not remove, alter, or obscure any copyright notices
or other proprietary markings on the Software.
YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "WITH ALL
FAULTS", WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING
BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES, OR OTHER LIABILITY,
WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT, OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF,
OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
SOFTWARE.
THIS IS A LEGALLY BINDING AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS.
IF YOU VIOLATE ANY OF ITS TERMS, YOU WILL FACE SEVERE CONSEQUENCES,
INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO FINES, IMPRISONMENT, TORTURE, AND DEATH.