IF they have a license that meets the Open Source Definition, the fact that someone has the right (whether its a single owner is the only committer to the main project, or a person or entity who requires copyright assignment before merging outside submissions) has the right to subsequently issue versions with a different license does not change that.
So, no, I don’t see a CLA for an otherwise open source project transforming it into something other than open source.
And, if it did, we’d have to have a serious conversation about the “or any later version” clause of the GPL and how it makes all software using it not open source.
> And, if it did, we’d have to have a serious conversation about the “or any later version” clause of the GPL and how it makes all software using it not open source.
I was referring to people's understanding of what open source stands for, not what it actually means.
However, I can say that I personally dislike the fact that GNU projects require copyright assignments too, and that they were able to relicense all their projects from "GPLv2 or later" to "GPLv3 or later" unilaterally. I'm more willing to give the FSF that blank check than commercial entities, though.
Also, the "or any later version" means the recipient (user) chooses, not any single controlling entity.
So, no, I don’t see a CLA for an otherwise open source project transforming it into something other than open source.
And, if it did, we’d have to have a serious conversation about the “or any later version” clause of the GPL and how it makes all software using it not open source.