I am not convinced that it is a scary accommodation, on the contrary I firmly believe it doesn’t make free software less free.
Quoting you:

What about the amazing community of contributors which has helped SugarCRM expand upon its grand business scheme? Base on its licensing condition, I could just imagine what it would look like if all the ingenuous creators had little icons showing what they did or come up with on SugarCRM.

Attribution probably is not the best ever solution, but it sounds like the most appropriate when we talk of corporate production model.

Democracy does not guarantee equality of conditions - it only guarantees equality of opportunity (Irving Kristol).

It appears like a big contradiction where one extensive use of available source code and ideas has very little ‘reconnaissance’ in regards to its ’sub’ stance . What about the amazing community of contributors which has helped SugarCRM expand upon its grand business scheme? Base on its licensing condition, I could just imagine what it would look like if all the ingenuous creators had little icons showing what they did or come up with on SugarCRM.

As an organization SugarCRM has the merit for good integration of LAMP. One must also admit its marketing attraction strength which brings common richness to all with a lite subtle condition to its use. But one must wonder what this tiny little licensing condition might hold for the future?

Thank you for the reply but I still see tremendous exposure for SugarCRM. On a big picture level, I really don’t see how they can go public and file an S-1 listing the business risks and have anyone back their offering. The hosting of SugarCRM for free with focused updates that make “my version” a better solution would be a killer for them. Keep in mind they would be burdened with the heavy lifting of the core system whereas my “company” could focus on additional features. That is a big benefit for me and to Sugar’s detriment.

I have extensively talked about the GPL loophole before, that’s why I didn’t mention it here.

SugarCRM has some unique selling points (see the above mentioned post), and it is definitely not trivial to spoil their business.

About SugarCRM’s strategy, I must tell you that I am quite impressed by their community: they look pretty smart, honestly.

SugarCRM made a big mistake!!!! I am not sure why you are looking to rationalize bad decisions by a company that should have been smarter. This was a critical mistake and will affect their future!