Are there software licenses out there that guarantee to the user the ability to receive updates and improvements to a piece of open source software?
I don't know of any license other than the GPL that provides this guarantee to the user.
I know that I'm more motivated to learn a new tool when it is protected by the GPL because of this guarantee that future versions will also be open source.
When I license my own software, I choose the Affero GPLv3 because it provides this extra guarantee to the users, even if the software serving the user is on a webserver.
Section 5, "Conveying Modified Source Versions", of the Affero GPLv3 sounds very related to this protection.
It sounds to me that anyone is free to distribute modified versions of the software, but to do so, they must also release the source code for the modified version they release, also under the same license.
Your link is an answer to my question. The only other open source license that requires disclosure of modified source code is the Mozilla License. It's still not as strong as the AGPL, which defines distribution as network use.
I love programming and thinking and talking about thinking. I have an education (BS, MS, PhD) focused on artificial intelligence and neuroscience.
I'm an advocate of the public academic pursuit of knowledge, the scientific process, peer review, and I see open source software and hardware as an essential part of the scientific process.
I see software user rights, including security and privacy, to be protected mainly by free and open source software.
I see the democratizing effects of the Internet, including distributed journalism and social networking, to be largely the effect of the collaborative development of free and open source software.
I am interested in free and open source manufacturing, including open source 3D printers and CNC machines. I believe open source manufacturing will be important for distributed manufacturing, allowing local manufacturing and local labor.
I see worker-owned coops as the way to safely transition from a non-democratic authoritarian top-down power structure of a traditional corporation to a democratic work environment, where the workers own the company and elect the board of directors, transitioning to democracy in the workplace.
I believe that socialism is a regulatory response to capitalism.
I believe that laws, money, corporations, and government are social agreements, and I'm in favor of democratic social agreements.
I believe in the organized non-violent boycott as a way to control capitalists and change corrupt systems.
I try to eat plant-based / vegan foods to boycott the animal industry, to help with the climate crisis, to improve my health, to avoid animal cruelty, and to avoid the extinction of species of plants, animals and ecosystems.
I have been diagnosed with Retinitus Pigmentosa, which is a disease of progressive retinal degeneration. I am legally blind, although I have about 5-degrees of vision remaining in my fovea. I'm interested in researching and developing BCIs (Brain-Computer Interfaces), specifically BCIs that function as vision prostheses that may help with conditions like RP, or the more common degenerative retinal disease AMD (Age-related Macular Degeneration).
I enjoy playing computer games like Age of Empires and Rimworld. I used to program computer games when I was younger and would like to get back to it one day.
I love playing music, especially bass guitar. I've been listening to a lot of Rage Against the Machine and Enya recently.
I enjoy reading books, mostly non-fiction.
I enjoy studying religions. I've found a lot of value in Buddhism, and I meditate often daily.
Nina and I have recently had our first baby, a boy we named Tyoma.
I'm currently working at Apple on the Vision Pro headset team.