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08-12-12, 08:51 PM   #33
Phanx
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Originally Posted by sakurakira View Post
... lets all authors be informed of what exactly can and cannot be done with their work ...
While I wouldn't mind seeing this information listed on the addon's download page, the reality is that every licensed addon includes a copy of that license inside its folder, right next to its .TOC and other files. It's freely viewable by anyone who downloads that addon. Since downloading is implicitly allowed by the author's act of uploading the addon to a public distribution site, anyone is free to download the addon and view the license file.

Besides, you can't copy code from an addon you don't have, and if you have a copy of an addon to view its code, you also have a copy of its license.

Originally Posted by sakurakira View Post
If WoWI had a submission based license option you, nor any other author, wouldn't have to go through the trouble of doing a specialized thing just for your addons.
Many addon authors use the GPL, MIT license, BSD license, or another well-established license that requires no more effort on their part than copying and pasting a file. Even if WoWI displayed an addon's license on its download page, the addon itself would still need to include a copy of the license.

The authors who "go through the trouble" of writing their own license are almost certainly aware that the GPL et al. exist, and have intentionally chosen not to use them. I don't think it's very likely that WoWI adding an optional "pick one of these popular licenses" select box to the addon submission form would change their mind about how to license their work.

Originally Posted by sakurakira View Post
... while it is really great that you are able to be contacted, take suggestions and so forth, ... authors sometimes drop out of the community for various reasons and never return. Those people can't just be contacted and asked if someone else can take over.
If the addons left behind by those authors are truly indispensible, the fact that their code can't be reused verbatim is not likely to be much of a sticking point; someone will write a new addon that provides the same features. If nobody does write such an addon, it probably means the addon is not as indispensible as you think.

It sucks when an addon you really liked gets left by the wayside, but if it turns out you're one of only 10 people who were using the addon, there's not much motivation for strangers to go out of their way and spend their time writing addons just for you. If you really can't play without the addon, I guess your choices are (a) quit WoW, (b) reexamine your gameplay style, or (c) learn Lua and write your own addon.

I think Unbelievable said it pretty well:

Originally Posted by Unbelievable View Post
The main issue is that some players seem to think that they are somehow entitled to unlimited, unpaid support ad infinitum. They aren't. They also seem to believe that they have some god given right to use a mod forever and that it should always work. They don't and it won't. ... Instead of berating the author for ceasing development perhaps it would be better to thank them for the many months/years of support in the past.
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