> IIRC in most cases it wasn’t so much that anyone actively disagreed with the licensing change, as that it was infeasible to even get in contact with the literally thousands of contributors — especially since many of them have left no contact details that could be used for legal correspondence.
Maybe yes and maybe no.
> ...The legislative process grinds to a halt!
You're being a bit overly dramatic. The software development process can continue just as it did before, they just can't retroactively change the license on code they do not own. It is true that maybe the project might die partially due to a lack of adoption due to people not liking the license, but he project may die for many other reasons as well. Also the project isn't gone anyway. It continues just as before.
> This is, of course, why no government is run that way. And it's equally silly to run a FOSS project that way. Even if literally everybody likes some change, just one contributor failing to get in contact means you're stuck without the ability to make the change.
There is one government, but there are many competing software projects. If one goes into decline it's not the end of the world. Besides the software project is not gone, it's still there. The fact that there are so many popular projects without the ability to change their licenses shows that the model can work just fine.
Look if you want to start a project and require a CLA be my guest. If you want to join a project with a CLA, go ahead. Just be aware that CLA's will deter some contributors. Weigh these trade-offs however you wish.
Maybe yes and maybe no.
> ...The legislative process grinds to a halt!
You're being a bit overly dramatic. The software development process can continue just as it did before, they just can't retroactively change the license on code they do not own. It is true that maybe the project might die partially due to a lack of adoption due to people not liking the license, but he project may die for many other reasons as well. Also the project isn't gone anyway. It continues just as before.
> This is, of course, why no government is run that way. And it's equally silly to run a FOSS project that way. Even if literally everybody likes some change, just one contributor failing to get in contact means you're stuck without the ability to make the change.
There is one government, but there are many competing software projects. If one goes into decline it's not the end of the world. Besides the software project is not gone, it's still there. The fact that there are so many popular projects without the ability to change their licenses shows that the model can work just fine.
Look if you want to start a project and require a CLA be my guest. If you want to join a project with a CLA, go ahead. Just be aware that CLA's will deter some contributors. Weigh these trade-offs however you wish.