How a license becomes Prosperous Software.
Every license carrying the Prosperous Software mark is reviewed in the open against the Prosperous Software Definition. Review happens on the public Telegram group chat — not a private inbox — so the reasoning behind every approval is on the record.
Conformance
Confirm the license satisfies every clause of the Prosperous Software Definition before it earns the mark.
Non-duplication
Avoid vanity and near-identical licenses. If an approved license already fits, reuse it instead of adding another.
Clarity & reuse
Ensure the text is complete, understandable, and reusable by projects other than the submitter.
Bring a complete submission.
Submission
The steward posts the license and the supporting materials above to the Prosperous Software Telegram group chat. The Review Committee confirms the submission is complete and opens it for discussion.
Public discussion
The community reviews the license in the open for at least 30 days. Anyone may raise questions; the steward is expected to respond and may revise the text. Substantive changes restart the clock.
Recommendation
When discussion settles, the Review Committee summarizes the thread and recommends an outcome — approve, reject, or hold — to the Public Goods Foundation board.
Decision
The PGF board votes. Approved licenses are added to the list of Prosperous Software licenses and assigned an SPDX-style identifier; the decision and its reasoning are published.
Approved
The license conforms to the Definition and is added to the approved list.
Rejected
The license does not conform, or duplicates an existing one. The reasoning is recorded.
Withdrawn
The steward withdraws the submission, with or without intent to resubmit a revised version.
Start the discussion on Telegram.
Submissions and the entire review happen in the public Prosperous Software group chat.