A Suggestion to Authors/WoWI on Future-Directed Licencing

[Shefki]

Originally Posted by Amarande Pitbull's configuration options are pitifully few (the configuration interface that was indicated would be introduced after 4.0.3 never made it to release, making it impossible to customise more than a few of the once many options PB had). The community is simply very lucky that Shadowed Unit Frames has been still maintained.

I realize I'm bumping a relatively older thread but I just stumbled upon this thread and feel that the above must be responded to. PitBull4's configuration is more than PitBull3 ever had. The only thing that broke during Cataclysm and that I never got fixed until here recently was the config mode (edit: all config mode did was make it easier to see what you're doing when you weren't in a situation that would display the frames, e.g. easier to edit party frames without finding people to make a group while you worked on them)

If someone had actually done the work to fix it, I would have been happy to apply the fix or add them to the repo so they could work on things on their own.

PitBull4 is All Rights Reserved for the reasons already given by others in this thread. Without doing ARR I have absolutely no leverage against people abusing the addon. Most disturbing, if someone adds malicious code I have no recourse with an open source license.

I'm a firm believer in open source, but it simply doesn't work within this community since there are people who are more than willing to abuse popular addons.

[Nuggs]

Personally, I think it's up to the addon author on what they want to with their code. Sure, it'd be nice if everyone released the way you wanted to but that's not the way life works.

Otherwise, I'd have my way and knowledge would be shared between everyone and there would be no closed source.

Anyways, that's just my touch on it. People are picky about their code and they may not want someone to just "take up the torch" after they have dropped the project.

Though, unless you live in a country that has an issue with public domain, my code is always available for free and you can even steal it, claim you wrote it and then sell it. I don't care.

Just not my WoW addons, Blizzard wouldn't like that.

[Phanx]

Originally Posted by Nuggs People are picky about their code and they may not want someone to just "take up the torch" after they have dropped the project.

The main issue with that is how to determine exactly when the project is "officially" dropped. Should everyone and their brother upload a "fan update" if the author doesn't updated within 30 seconds of a patch going live? (Based on the number of "duzint wurk updaet plz zomg broekn y abanndin omggggg ima dieeeeee" tickets I get on my addons if I don't have an update out before the patch is done downloading, some people would define it that way.) How about when they don't update for a patch, but the addon works just fine when "Load out of date addons" is checked? When the last patch introduced a minor issue but the addon still mostly works as long as you don't use Feature X? When it's been 3 years and the addon has been completely unusable for 6 months?

I'm sure there are also people who would think it was time to "take up the torch" if the author declined to add a feature they requested, or if a bug report went a month without being addressed. Certainly many users seem to think it's the end of the world when these things happen.

[Nuggs]

Originally Posted by Phanx The main issue with that is how to determine exactly when the project is "officially" dropped. Should everyone and their brother upload a "fan update" if the author doesn't updated within 30 seconds of a patch going live? (Based on the number of "duzint wurk updaet plz zomg broekn y abanndin omggggg ima dieeeeee" tickets I get on my addons if I don't have an update out before the patch is done downloading, some people would define it that way.) How about when they don't update for a patch, but the addon works just fine when "Load out of date addons" is checked? When the last patch introduced a minor issue but the addon still mostly works as long as you don't use Feature X? When it's been 3 years and the addon has been completely unusable for 6 months? I'm sure there are also people who would think it was time to "take up the torch" if the author declined to add a feature they requested, or if a bug report went a month without being addressed. Certainly many users seem to think it's the end of the world when these things happen.

There is no grace period. It's as simple as, "can I" or "can't I" when it comes to releasing someones work.

There's no, well, it's been six months so I can just take his code now. There's no, he denied my feature request, I'm taking his code and making the change and releasing it if his license forbids it.

[Osirin]

What about stuff like this?:
from the ToU (http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company...ermsofuse.html)

User Content. “User Content” means any communications, images, sounds, and all the material and information that you upload or transmit through a Game client or the Service, or that other users upload or transmit, including without limitation any chat text. You hereby grant Blizzard a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, paid-up, non-exclusive license and right to reproduce, fix, adapt, modify, translate, reformat, create derivative works from, manufacture, introduce into circulation, publish, distribute, sell, license, sublicense, transfer, rent, lease, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, provide access to electronically, broadcast, communicate to the public by telecommunication, enter into computer memory, use, and practice such User Content as well as all modified and derivative works thereof. To the extent permitted by applicable laws, you hereby waive any moral rights you may have in any User Content.

and things like:
(from http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/1021053914 (the add-on development policy))

2) Add-on code must be completely visible. The programming code of an add-on must in no way be hidden or obfuscated, and must be freely accessible to and viewable by the general public.

and

7) Add-ons must abide by World of Warcraft ToU and EULA. All add-ons must follow the World of Warcraft Terms of Use and the World of Warcraft End User License Agreement.

How does this factor in to licensing? Doesn't this pretty much say that we hand all rights over to blizzard if we make anything that is transferred through, or otherwise used by their game client and supersede -everything- else?

[Cairenn]

Originally Posted by Osirin What about stuff like this? <snip> How does this factor in to licensing? Doesn't this pretty much say that we hand all rights over to blizzard if we make anything that is transferred through, or otherwise used by their game client and supersede -everything- else?

In short, no it doesn't. Addons are the intellectual property of their authors and have all copyright protections that thus apply.

[Seerah]

In long...

That is chat text, screenshots uploaded to the website, etc, etc. Not your addons.

#2 of the addon policy means that I should be able to open your file in notepad and see what it does

#7 means that addons shouldn't break the rules - they have to adhere to the addon policy and the EULA/TOS (no spamming, no cross-faction communication, no gambling, etc)

/edit: and the bit in the addon policy saying you can't sell your addons isn't because Blizz owns them either - it's because they want the process of getting addons to be free and easy for their players. You could most definitely sell your addon - but Blizz would be in their right to disable the use of that addon in the client.

[Cairenn]

What she said.

[Maul]

Originally Posted by Osirin You hereby grant Blizzard a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, paid-up, non-exclusive license

If this DID somehow relate to addons, the ToU would only grant Blizzard the license, no one else. And licensing does not imply the removal of copyrights from the owner. A license is just what it says it is.

[Shefki]

And if there's any doubt pulling out my estoppel.

From: WoWUI <wowui@blizzard.com> To: Shefki <***OMMITTED***>, WoWUI <wowui@blizzard.com> Subject: RE: Clarrification on Add-on policy? Date: Wed, 8 Apr 2009 10:25:39 -0700 We will block for-pay addons from functioning with World of Warcraft, we have no intention of claiming copyrights over all addons. Regards, WoW UI team