Carbonite Quest

Tweeker · 02-14-08, 08:33 PM

I seriously doubt anyone here is going to like this opinion:

Modding and addons are done by nice people, smart people. They are submitted for free, and give the author a sense of pride for many reasons, releasing something that will help others. Also for having their name on a mod that tons of people use.

This basic concept has kept the addons free from the very beginning. We let a mod in that REQUIRES PAYMENT for the full feature of an addon, then everyone will be crippling their work and only releasing teaser addons!

Let's take Mazzle UI, or for that matter Fubar and even ACE ..... Lets say they employed the same money making tactics.

Now that we are all hooked on these great addons that we have come to adore and rely on, just think if we now had to shell out XX dollars per month/year for their "full" useage.

This is where it starts.

I myself just got hit with a separate window pop upon entering wowinterface.com. Now this i can understand, they have costs to host this site and I'm certain the developers and site admins have more important things to do for free. I believe they all deserve a few clicks here and there, and even upgrade the account, make a donation in the amount of your choice.

That being said, I am going to remove my portal and delete my addons from being downloaded until i get an email at [email protected] stating that this addon here has been banned from wowinterface.com.

I understand I'm not going to get what I ask for, so this is good bye for me, off to find or CREATE a place that does not permit the futuristic thrashing of the addon world as we know it.

Rodger

Dreadlorde · 02-14-08, 09:21 PM

It's Ace, not ACE.

RDX was only an addon you had to buy for a while; there's an article about it on phanxs' website.

And what exactly is carbonite quest doing that you don't like?

***Dolby*** · 02-14-08, 09:37 PM

Can you explain more? Every addon here is free to use... is Carbonite Quest requiring some type of payment to use? I dont see any advertisements stateing you need to buy something on it unless its in game only (have not used it in game)?

Might wanna let us know if theres something fishy with Carbonite Quest instead of an ultimatum of pull it or your leaving. I think we have proven over the past we want to protect the addon community and authors. I'm sure some solution can be found.

edit: Also if you recieved a popup ad can you let me know what it was for? There should be no pop up ads on this site, some times they sneak in embedded into flash ads.

Flarin · 02-14-08, 09:49 PM

I for one support this type of model. I am willing to pay for excellent mods that are updated. For information on this mod, the free version and the pay version, go http://www.carboniteaddon.com/default.aspx.

The way it works is when you pay a subscription price for the website you get a download link for the full version of the mod. The mod then does some validation when you log in with the registered player/realm - the mod is then open for ANY of your toons on ANY realm. This Carbonite Quest release is meant to have you test out a big part of the mod, and see if you like it. If you don't - great - don't pay. If you do, either live with the limited version or come to the site and pay.

I think if MORE developers tool this stance if would be BETTER for the modding community. There is NOTHING WRONG for someone getting paid for their hard work. The mod in question is a working mod, there is no nag screen or anything, but it is part of a larger mod package that you need to subscribe to a website to download. Carbonite Quest is a standalone mod trying to entice you to be thirsty for more.

I am not affliliated with the developers at all, I am just a happy customer. The mod is very cool and for me let's me substitute a BUNCH of mods that I use.

I found this link on the Carbonite site. I thought the thread was interesting - it discusses the legailty of charging for mods.
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...81825791&sid=1

Sepioth · 02-14-08, 10:08 PM

I talked about this addon on it's comments page and said my peace there.

One thing I just found out and REALLY don't like is they way the "corrupt" the LUA file so nobody but them can read it.

I know this is done to "protect" their work (or possibly hide their code theft)...

Who's to say that the waypoint system was not ripped directly from Cartographer ... word for word ??

Either way I don't like it. If an author wants monetary compensation for their work then put up a PayPal Donation Link. I think WoW addons should be made for the love of the game and the love of the community ... not monetary gain.

Seerah you point out that thread on the WoW forums. I don't visit them much but I though official posts where from "Blue's" ?? .. .all I see are Green (forum mods??) and normal white. I see no official blue posts there.

Sorry Seerah to open my mouth again ... I'm done this time I swear.

**Shirik** · 02-14-08, 10:14 PM

Originally Posted by Sepioth

One thing I just found out and REALLY don't like is they way the "corrupt" the LUA file so nobody but them can read it.

I feel obligated to point out two things:

(1) Lua is not an acronym; it is a Portugese word that means "moon." (Sorry, Lua's on a "Write Lua Right" campaign and I'm pitching in

)

(2) It's not really possible to "corrupt" it, only obfuscate it (make it difficult to read). If it were corrupt, WoW wouldn't read it

Thus, someone with enough knowledge and time should be able to pull it apart. I'm not saying I advocate this behavior, nor am I saying that any "deciphered" versions would ever be allowed on this site (because they wouldn't unless the original author were to agree -- they're still the same code), but I am saying it's possible.

-- Shirik

**Seerah** · 02-14-08, 10:24 PM

Originally Posted by Sepioth

Seerah you point out that thread on the WoW forums. I don't visit them much but I though official posts where from "Blue's" ?? .. .all I see are Green (forum mods??) and normal white. I see no official blue posts there.

Flarin linked the same thread.

And you're right - Blizzard posters are Blue. But does that make it any less true? Or do I need to go and dig up a blue post? Or is it that you're just being argumentative?

Here's part of our discussion on irc from Monday night:

(22:33:38) (+Seerah) Blizzard has stated that for-pay mods are legit
(22:33:49) (@Cairenn) of course they are legit
(22:33:54) (+Seerah) the code belongs to the author - it's not like selling items
(22:34:10) (@Cairenn) exactly
(22:34:10) (+Seerah) if an author wants to charge for use of their code, it's their prerogative.
(22:34:17) (@Cairenn) yup
(22:35:54) (+Shirik) (22:33:38) (+Seerah) Blizzard has stated that for-pay mods are legit
(22:36:14) (+Shirik) what they state is irrelevant :P They've released their code into the public domain and granted access to use the API
(22:36:30) (+Shirik) It's been upheld in court (see GPL cases) that an addon and WoW will be considered two separate addons
(22:36:37) (+Shirik) er, two separate programs
(22:36:40) (@Cairenn) Shirik: you're arguing the same point
(22:36:44) (+Shirik) I know I'm just saying
(22:36:45) (+Seerah) yeah
(22:36:54) (@Cairenn) she said ARE legit, not are NOT legit
(22:37:10) (+Shirik) yeah I'm just saying... even if they didn't say that :P They can't choose

jaliborc · 04-15-08, 08:45 AM

Originally Posted by Flarin

I for one support this type of model. I am willing to pay for excellent mods that are updated.

I would never pay for a WoW addon. At least, not for Carbonite Quest. The map appears to work well, but the Carbonite addons look... it's just awful.

Originally Posted by Shirik

I feel obligated to point out two things:
Lua is not an acronym; it is a Portugese word that means "moon." (Sorry, Lua's on a "Write Lua Right" campaign and I'm pitching in

)

Are you portuguese or are you a dedicated searcher?

**Seerah** · 04-15-08, 09:14 AM

Originally Posted by jaliborc

Are you portuguese or are you a dedicated searcher?

Neither. I can't speak for shirik, but what he said, and you quoted, that was one of the first things I read on the first lua website I visted. http://www.lua.org/about.html

edit: and I agree with Silenia

**Seerah** · 02-14-08, 10:06 PM

Tweeker, I was hoping that this was resolved the other night in the Carbonite Quest comments section. I'm sorry to see that it wasn't.

Here is a thread from the WoW forums about the Carbonite for-pay version. I highly advise that you read it, as it goes over the points that I tried to make, but in more detail. http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...81825791&sid=1

For-pay addons are completely legit. It does not go against Blizzard's EULA or ToS to charge for an addon you create. Blizzard only owns the rights to its game code and any items/characters therein. Authors own the rights to their addon code, and may put it under whatever license they wish.

The only reason why you see so little for-pay addons, is because 1. that requires that the author keep up with updates, fixes, etc, as they have that responsibility by charging users for the addon and 2. because there is so much free stuff around. But anything you find that gets charged for is first-rate. It has to be - otherwise, no one would be willing to pay for it.

Now, about the Carbonite Quest mod hosted here on this site.

Before I made my second post in the Carbonite Quest comments section, I brought your concerns to the rest of the staff. Our consensus was that Carbonite Quest does exactly what it says it does. There is no mention on the download page that it is a few features from the for-pay version, and it is not the old trial, which limited you to 30-days usage.

It is its own mod. You can use it for however long you want to, and never need to pay for the other features. If you *want* the other features that come with the for-pay mod, then you can either pay for it, or substitute other mods for those features. But nowhere are you forced to pay, or asked to pay.

As for your concerns...

If Carbonite Quest was solely an advertisement for the for-pay version, then that would be a different story. But it's not. It is a fully-functional quest database mod that operates on its own.

Authors are free to do whatever they wish with their code. They may license it so that they own all rights to the addon, or release it into the public domain. Or even in-between, where people may make derivative works. An author has every right to charge for their work. See my two reasons above for why you don't see it very often.

There are people on each side of this debate. Some see it as ethical, like you. But that is just your opinion. You create addons for free, but you are not free to force that opinion on others.

This addon does what it says it does, and does not require you to pay for anything. It will be allowed to remain on this site. If anyone wants to download it, they are free to. If they don't, then they won't. I'm sorry to see you go, Tweek.