I sent an email about this topic and received no reply.
I have created a free opensource marketing platform that includes friends lists, profiles, block lists, etc. One of the key aspects of the platform is to have an instant messenger that friends can use to converse back and forth.
Your software does a great job of this and we would like to be able to release our free opensource software with an unbranded copy of the free version of the friechat software. Realistically we have searched, yours has every feature one could want so why would we want to recreate the wheel.
We would include in our setup instructions that for a full featured social IM, users should consider upgrading friechat, however we specifically are asking permission to distribute unbranded copies of friechat with our software.
Now, I have read through the forums and I know the typical reply is "you are not allowed to distribute our software nor are you allowed to branch it as it is against the terms of the license, which is not opensource". This is why I tried to contact privately about this issue before bringing it to the forums, because that answer is not entirely true.
I would much rather work with codologic on this and have their permission to release the free version of friechat within our opensource platform, but if that is not an option, what is an option is branching friechat.... not in its existing form, but the copies released up until 2013 when the license was changed from GPL to private.... however anyone with those original GPL licensed copies (or anyone who can find them).... under the terms of the GPL they CAN in fact branch the project.
Granted a lot has changed in 4 years, but its still a nice starting place to branch a project from.
Again I would much rather this not be a public issue. I would prefer to discuss this privately and work with friechat on some reasonable solution allowing us to distribute. So please do reach out to me by email and lets talk.
~ president at marketers.coop