When comparing AGPL vs GPLv2, the Slant community recommends AGPL for most people. In the question“What are the best open-source licenses?” AGPL is ranked 3rd while GPLv2 is ranked 7th. The most important reason people chose AGPL is:
Designed to ensure that end-users can access source code, even when applications run on remote web servers.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Protects user freedom in the cloud
Designed to ensure that end-users can access source code, even when applications run on remote web servers.
Pro Ensures that derivitave works are also protected by strong copyleft
Works extending the original must be licensed in a similar fashion to the AGPL, preserving and extending the user freedoms originally granted.
Pro Protects the author
The author of the software avoids any risk for how the software may be used by others.
Pro Ensures source access
Designed to make sure users have the freedom to access source code.
Pro Ensures that derivitave works are also protected by copyleft
Ensures that the software and its derivatives remain licensed under the same license to keep the software free and open source.
Pro Guarantees that all changes are given back
Pro Ensures that the software does not become proprietary
Cons
Con Cannot be sublicensed
Con Cannot be linked with other licenses
Software licensed under the GNU GPLv2 is incompatible with all other licenses, with the exception of GPLv3 in most cases. This means that code from a GPLv2 program cannot be combined with code under another license in the same program.
Con Long and complicated
The license is very long and complicated, making it hard to read and comprehend. However, there is a simplified version available here.