if somebody makes a hack for say invisionboard and then some1 converts this hack to work with the XOOPS ipbm module

is this illegal?

i ask this as it looks like bbpixel has been suspended due to somebody posting a version of the invision rpg mod modified to work with XOOPS ipbm mod..

all credits and copyright notices were left intact on both the output and in the source itself. yet the author of the hack posted on bbpixel to remove it.. obviously he didn't even wait for a reply and proceeded to inform the server host which has suspended the account.. so much for giving koudanshi time to read the post and remove it..

my reply to him was that he was basically going against all that open source is about by restricting the use of his hack and not allowing any1 to modify it for their own means.. i mean for christ sake, he made it for invisionboard, and just because ipbm is modified to work with XOOPS does that make it so different that we can't use that hack with it.. it's still invisionboard by all accounts..

As far as I was aware, permission was granted from IPB a long time ago, I'm sure there where posts regarding this a long time ago too.

I notice both:

http://www.koudanshi.net/
http://www.bbpixel.com

are both gone now?

the suspension for BBPixel states:

Quote:

invisionboard isn't open source though I believe?

I really don't know about all the legalities though and/or exactly what has happened, so I couldn't comment further, sorry.

sorry no it isn't :S i use the term open source very broadly at times.. have changed the name now to make less confusing..

but here's from ipb site:

SCOPE OF GRANT
You may:
customize the Software's design and operation to suit the internal needs of your web site
produce and distribute modification instructions, Skin packs, or Language packs provided that they contain notification that the Skin and Language packs were exported from and originally created by Invision Power Board and/or IPS. The modifications instructions you personally create are not owned by IPS so long as they contain no proprietary coding from Invision Power Board.
create applications which interface with the operation of the Software provided said application is an original work


now this bit:

The modifications instructions you personally create are not owned by IPS so long as they contain no proprietary coding from Invision Power Board.

would i be right in thinking that if the hack in question had IPS coding in it from invision board, so in having that it would be owned by IPS? in which case the permission given to modify ipb for XOOPS would also cover the conversion of a hack containg IPS code too? or am i not reading it right :S

Again I'm not 100% on this but I believe if it contains IPB code then that code must not be re-distibuted as that comes under a different licence to the GPL hack, however you could distibute the hack with instructions of how to implement it (with out IPB code in it) into the IPB code.

OMG,

Does this mean that everyone that has the IPBM module are going to be left high and dry?