Re: [RFC] Updating the PHP License

From: Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2025 02:00:14 +0000
Subject: Re: [RFC] Updating the PHP License
References: 1 2  Groups: php.internals 
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On 11/23/25 17:10, Tim Düsterhus wrote:

Hi

On 7/10/25 05:22, Ben Ramsey wrote:

The RFC is available at: https://wiki.php.net/rfc/php_license_update

Discussion will remain open for at least six months to ensure all
interested parties have an opportunity to respond.


With the new policy in https://wiki.php.net/rfc/rfc_discussion_and_vote, RFCs are considered inactive after 42 days to ensure that the discussion is fresh. The long discussion period on this RFC will not help anyone if the thread is already buried my several other RFCs and folks already forgot about it.

I'm thus using the opportunity to bump this discussion to the top of the inbox and to also note that the new policy very strongly encourages that the final voting widgets are added early to an RFC (since the addition of a voting widget is considered a Major Change). Don't forget to include the “Abstain” option.

Best regards
Tim Düsterhus



Thanks, Tim, for bumping this thread.

I've updated the RFC to include the voting widget, including the Abstain option.

So far, I think the only substantial bit of feedback comes from Derick:


I only really have one comment — why wait until (specifically) PHP 9,
and not PHP-next (the one after 8.5)?


My response was:


I don't think there are any technical or legal reasons for for this.
When I began discussing this with others a few years ago, the next
major version (PHP 9) seemed like the right time to make a major
licensing change.

If others think PHP-next (i.e., either 8.6 or 9.0, whichever comes
first) is the right version for this change, then I'm okay with that.


What do others think? Should this be for PHP 8.6, or should it wait until PHP 9.0?

According to the original timeline for this, I plan to open voting for this in early January, and according to the new RFC policy, I'll ensure the discussion is active with the proper cool-down period before I open voting.

Cheers,
Ben



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