Hehehe,

Yea like maybe something before v1.0

Oh wait, there was not anything before v1.0

Think about it, e-friends also has plugins and themes. Hay maybe there is a conspiracy for all PHP software and most cgi software.

Well, I guess you could go back to thatware, some phpbb code etc. since if I am not mistaken XOOPS "borrowed" some of the code from other CMS's also like the ones above.

Sure, XOOPS isn't the original script either, but at least the code that was used from other scripts is credited as such, and spread under the GPL license. Apparently not everyone keeps to that open source spirit.

The MySpace Gold issue has been known for a while now. I've not seen any code from them yet (if someone could send it to me, I'd be grateful, so I can research the similarities), but it seems they're in a direct violation of the GPL. That is, I suspect this, so for now, they're still innocent of this crime.

If we can prove they're selling XOOPS codes in violation of the GPL (selling the code itself isn't a violation!), then we need to take some action.

So lets prove once and for all if they're right or wrong.

Herko

I agree with you to a point Herko. I mean I am a linux freak and its open source however that does not seem to matter as there are many flavors of it that are distributed on cd rom at your local bestbuy store.

Any GPL code is not like Microsoft software that is copyrighted. When authors release software under the GPL they know that people are going to use it, hack it, change it, sell it, charge for it, you name it and people will do whatever they want with it.

Some people may not like this but its a fact if life.

I mean take a look at prozilla and dotcombuilder. They have many open source software that they charge users to pay for to get from their "members" area. None of the original credits are intact in those either but no one seem to say anything about it.

Look at their auction software. Do you know where that came from? Its PHPAuction. A gpl software however there is no license in this that indicates it howerver if you inspect the code you will see that they are EXACTLY alike apart from the layout (design and colors)

Bottom line is, authors of GPL software are not stupid. They all research their options before releasing software as GPL. And as such they also know that people are going to do things with the software that no one can imagine.

Just my 2cent worth.

Hi James. I too recently purchased the PHP Myspace Gold edition. I am having no luck getting it to work. The install text is not very clear to me. I uploaded all files into root directory via Smart FTP. I thought the problem might be that I use Yahoo hosting which makes my root directory a backslash only. One of the requirements is to not have a trailing backslash in the direct path. Of course my direct path is a backslash. I tried moving all folders and files to a subdirectory, but I still get a directory list or a blank page upon index.php. I opened the index.php file and it is empty. I checked the file in my local browser and it has code in it so I copied the code into the index.php file but still nothing. I have not gotten the admin page which is supposed to load upon typing in my url. I am frustrated and lost. Have you had any luck yet? Any suggestions? Thanks.

Ehm... even if PHP MySpace Gold IS a commercial XOOPS ripoff, that doesn't mean this community also supports phpmyspace gold

The path issue isn't that difficult to solve tho, what you need to do is find out what the path really is, for instance by creating a php file called test.php with the following code:


Then upload this file to the server, and call it in your browser. There should be a SCRIPT_PATH variable or something similar there, and that's the path you should have in the mainfile.php.

I recommend you ask at the popscripts.com guys too, you did pay for the #OOPS# thing... might at least get some support from them.

I have been able to ascertain that phpmyspace gold and XOOPS have the same codebase, and am looking into the possible actions we can take.

Herko

obviously i'm not going to be buying phpmyspace gold but does anyone know if they're is a similiar module available or even recommend a developer i could pay to do one?

sorry to bring this off topic for a second

Similar module to what?

And it would also be interesting to see the copyright situation of the modules included in the Myspace gold pack as well?

Quote:

yeah. if the modules are any good, someone should release them on xoops.org

Quote:

Now wait a minute. You guys know that modules and themes do not need to be released under the GPL and are plugins for xoops. What you are talking about is piracy!

If this is the case then we all should be able to take the "commercial" mods from everyone as well as the "commercial" themes from everyone and release them as GPL right?

Come on guys lets not start the piracy thing here. There is a difference between GPL code and code that is "commercial" Themes and modules are not required for XOOPS to run and therefore are or could be "commercial" licensed.

If everyone agrees to this, then we should be able to release all the mods and commercial themes that other people make here as GPL too huh?

Quote:
Actually, you've got it twisted round: 'Themes and modules are not required for XOOPS to run' doesn't say anything about the license of those themes and modules, but about XOOPS itself. Because a theme or a module is worthless without the GPL-licensed XOOPS core. Thus, a module (themes are different, as they contain works of art: images, but the HTML code falls under this too) can be seen as 'part of the whole program', as it has no function without the core. So modules, when released (as they obviously are in phpMySpace Gold), should be released under the GPL.

This is the XOOPS Foundation point of view on this. There is some debate however, as the GPL is specifically written for compiled applications that do not include the source code by their nature, as opposed to interpreted language applications such as all PHP scripts. The use of API's could be seen as providing the means for any application to communicate with the GPL-licensed application, but here again, this situation is better suited for compiled apps then for interpreted apps, as any *function* could be seen as an API.

Anyways, we still hold to the first point of view. This makes it possible to release the PHPMySpace Gold modules under the GPL license IF and WHEN it is proven that they are breaking the GPL, and there is no other solution to this problem. Only as a LAST resort! And even then it is debatable, consider what you would think of it when it happened to you...

Herko