[Top][All Lists]
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: [Nel] Gamer question (the asp hole)
From: |
Michael Warnock |
Subject: |
Re: [Nel] Gamer question (the asp hole) |
Date: |
Fri, 14 Dec 2001 11:29:14 -0800 |
12/14/2001 5:52:43 AM, "Paul Siegel" <address@hidden> wrote:
>Kai, from my reading of the GPL, everything wraps around the clause of "if
>you distribute". Since Ryzom has yet to be distributed, I don't think
>Nevrax is under any obligation to share the source code.
>
>Under this same logic, I would think that Nevrax will never have to release
>the source code of their servers, since such software is really for internal
>use only, not to be distributed. Isn't that correct?
>
thats what's known as the ASP hole (application service provider). On the one
hand it has been used to create money-making websites out of gpl pieces by
companies who have never released their code changes. On the
other hand, with a massively multiplayer game there is a lot of server side
stuff- rules/ agent experience/ object locations that you may not want to
release in the interests of gameplay. However, most of that type of thing can
be abstracted from the core programs and written in a definition or scripting
language specific to the game or in some general purpose language like python.
these interpreted programs, stored in some database, can now be
considered content and free from gpl obligations. But that means that even if
all the backend source is available, you have a lot of work to do before it
does anything useful.
with a few grey areas in rules (physics?) I think this is as it should be.
michael
[Prev in Thread] |
Current Thread |
[Next in Thread] |
- Re: [Nel] Gamer question (the asp hole),
Michael Warnock <=