WCL-1.0 contained a fail-safe: if WellSpr.ing ceases operations, software reverts to MIT. That clause presumed a legal entity. WCL-1.1 removes it. No dissolution. No reversion window. A federated node network where any party can light a new node with the license text as the only seed. The formula stays given.
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person or organization obtaining a copy of this software to deal in the Software without restriction — use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies — subject to one condition: the above copyright notice and this license notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
This grant is permanent, irrevocable, and unconditional. It is not contingent on the availability of any WCL node, the continued operation of any domain, or the capacity of any steward. No subsequent event can reduce the permissions granted here.
MIT-equivalent. Unconditional. Use it, fork it, modify it, deploy it, sell it. Include the copyright notice and license text. That is the only enforceable obligation.
Any server that hosts the canonical license text, maintains a hash registry, and exposes a verification endpoint is a valid WCL node. No approval required. git.wellspr.ing is the first node and the origin — it is not the authority.
Respect Mon is voluntary value return. It is not enforced. It is not a license fee. Allocations are published quarterly, fully transparent.
There is no dissolution clause in WCL-1.1. The license does not revert. The grant does not expire. The node network does not have a master off-switch.
A WCL node is any server that: hosts the canonical WCL-1.1 license text at a stable public URI, maintains a hash registry of software releases published under WCL, and exposes a verification endpoint at {node-url}/wcl/verify/{hash}.
Serve the canonical WCL-1.1 text at {your-node}/wcl/license/1.1. Any git host works. Forgejo (from NotGit.org) is the sovereign stack.
Maintain a registry of SHA-256 hashes for software releases published under WCL, paired with IPFS CIDs. Any node can verify any release.
Expose /wcl/verify/{hash}: accepts a SHA-256, returns {verified, published_at, project_slug}. Implement once, serve forever.
Submit a pull request adding your node URL to git.wellspr.ing/WellBuilder/wcl-nodes/nodes.txt. No approval beyond the PR merge required.
If all current nodes go dark, any party with this license text may stand up a new node and resume the network. The license is the seed.
Each line: {node-url} | {operator} | {date} | {ipfs-node-id}. The registry itself is mirrored to IPFS — no single authoritative copy.
Every WCL release should be anchored to IPFS at the time of publication. The IPFS CID is computed from the content itself — it does not depend on any domain, server, or node remaining available. A file pinned to IPFS with the CID recorded in the release metadata is permanently retrievable by anyone with the CID, regardless of what happens to any domain or server.
At release: compute the SHA-256 of the release archive → publish to the node's hash registry → pin to IPFS via at least two independent pinning services → record the CID in the git tag metadata and the project README.
Recommended pinning: Pinata + web3.storage + publishing node's own IPFS daemon. The CID is the immutable identifier — the domain is just a convenience alias.
README block for WCL-1.1 releases — copy this into your project README and fill in the values marked in green:
Licensed under the WellSpr.ing Covenant License (WCL-1.1) Use freely. Modify freely. Deploy freely. Release hash: <sha-256-of-release-archive> IPFS CID: <ipfs-cid-from-pinata-or-web3storage> Node: <your-node-url> If this software produces value for you, consider sending Respect Mon: <your-node-url>/respect/<project-slug> Full license: wellspr.ing/license/wcl-1.1
Stand up a WCL node in four steps. The sovereign stack from NotGit.org and NoFlare.org works directly.
{your-node}/wcl/license/1.1. Copy this page's full text verbatim. The canonical URI is the authority.{your-node}/wcl/verify/{hash}. Accepts a SHA-256, returns {verified: true, published_at, project_slug} or {verified: false}.git.wellspr.ing/WellBuilder/wcl-nodes adding your node URL to nodes.txt. Merge = registration. No approval authority exists to deny it.WCL-1.0 contained a fail-safe: ceases operations → reverts to MIT. The intent was reassurance. The problem is that the clause presupposes a legal entity with a dissolution event. WellSpr.ing is not a legal entity. The actual threat is not dissolution — it is capture: domain seizure, infrastructure takedown, steward incapacitation. WCL-1.1 addresses those threats instead.
| Allocation | % | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Named contributors | 40% | Proportional to merged contribution weight |
| Infrastructure | 20% | Hosting, DNS, compute |
| Civic mission fund | 25% | New civic platform development |
| Wellkeeper stewardship | 15% | Governance and distribution work |