Winboard Forum

hi,

I was reading the article on clones and what is a clone and had some questions about the issues surrounding code releases.

I have allready released some older code, www.adam16mr.org/pulsar.html click on atomic page link. And i didnt specify any conditions. Is it to late to change that? I'm not as worried because its older code, it only plays atomic and the current pulsar plays atomic fischer random sucicide giveaway, losers, 3checks, crazyhouse and regular chess in one program.

My idea on the code release is that anyone can do what they want with it if they keep their code as public as my code is, i.e. my code is public, at least what i released so branches should remain public. The other is that they shouldnt be able to profit off it without expressed persmission by me and i'd probably ask for money to give that permission.

By profit i dont just mean sell it i mean even an enity like chessclub.com could not modify my code and run bots on a commercial server because that contributes to the services they offer on the server and they are for sale.

I''m a little liberal on this in that if say chessclub.com needed to compile my code for linux themselves and had to modify some code to make it compile then thats fine as my engines compiled are freeware. But if they wanted to add a wild, or upgrade my code to play differently, or write coce to make it work with their interfaces they write then they would need permission and an arrangement.

How should i approach a code release? should i continue to make my engines freeware? I am going to continue to give them away for free but i'm thinking i should specify only if its not used for commercial use. I.e you cant download an engine and sell it. But this would eliminate commercial programs that bundle a large variety of engines which there is no real reason to do i think as they arent really profiting off me directly, ie. you dont buy it for pulsar, its just one of a hundred in some of these releases. but pulsar plays a lot fo wilds and i could see someone trying to profit more directly off that.

How should i approach a code release? I dont really understand all the liscesces does one of them seem to work for me? Right now i dont think i'm going to do a code release for another year but i'm trying to prepare better for it than my first code release.

Mike Adams
www.adam16mr.org/pulsar.html

Just personal opinion. Illegal copying and cloning is a price for popularity. Any release limitations can hurt popularity, but cannot stop illegal usage. If your free product will be lucky to get popularity you can try to sell your future work.

PulsarMike wrote:I have allready released some older code, www.adam16mr.org/pulsar.html click on atomic page link. And i didnt specify any conditions. Is it to late to change that?

Big IANAL disclaimer here: I am not a lawyer. My layman opinion is that as long as your published code properly states your copyright then it's not allowed to use it (it is not licensed).

PulsarMike wrote:How should i approach a code release? I dont really understand all the liscesces does one of them seem to work for me? Right now i dont think i'm going to do a code release for another year but i'm trying to prepare better for it than my first code release.

In this case I really recommend that you invest some time in reading and understanding the most important open source licenses. This can be an interesting starting point:

http://developer.kde.org/documentation/ ... mmary.html

I think at the very least you should read GPL, Apache License and BSD. Googling for "open source licenses" will give you many other options as well. Since you are going to release a lot of hard work, it makes sense to spend time to do it properly IMO.

PulsarMike wrote:hi,

I was reading the article on clones and what is a clone and had some questions about the issues surrounding code releases.

I have allready released some older code, www.adam16mr.org/pulsar.html click on atomic page link. And i didnt specify any conditions. Is it to late to change that? I'm not as worried because its older code, it only plays atomic and the current pulsar plays atomic fischer random sucicide giveaway, losers, 3checks, crazyhouse and regular chess in one program.

You retain copyright to your code without an explicit copyright statement in the US. What happens in other countries may differ.

My idea on the code release is that anyone can do what they want with it if they keep their code as public as my code is, i.e. my code is public, at least what i released so branches should remain public. The other is that they shouldnt be able to profit off it without expressed persmission by me and i'd probably ask for money to give that permission.

By profit i dont just mean sell it i mean even an enity like chessclub.com could not modify my code and run bots on a commercial server because that contributes to the services they offer on the server and they are for sale.

I''m a little liberal on this in that if say chessclub.com needed to compile my code for linux themselves and had to modify some code to make it compile then thats fine as my engines compiled are freeware. But if they wanted to add a wild, or upgrade my code to play differently, or write coce to make it work with their interfaces they write then they would need permission and an arrangement.

How should i approach a code release? should i continue to make my engines freeware? I am going to continue to give them away for free but i'm thinking i should specify only if its not used for commercial use. I.e you cant download an engine and sell it. But this would eliminate commercial programs that bundle a large variety of engines which there is no real reason to do i think as they arent really profiting off me directly, ie. you dont buy it for pulsar, its just one of a hundred in some of these releases. but pulsar plays a lot fo wilds and i could see someone trying to profit more directly off that.

How should i approach a code release? I dont really understand all the liscesces does one of them seem to work for me? Right now i dont think i'm going to do a code release for another year but i'm trying to prepare better for it than my first code release.

Mike Adams
www.adam16mr.org/pulsar.html

How you want to copyright/copyleft/whatever your code is totally up to you.
I think you should do whatever you would like to do.

Alessandro Scotti wrote: My layman opinion is that as long as your published code properly states your copyright then it's not allowed to use it (it is not licensed).

Nowadays I don't think the copyright notice is even needed, at least in the USA; but its always good to include one anyhow.

A non-commercial Creative Commons license might fit PulsarMike's needs. There are advantages to using a well known license.
(PulsarMike? Has Volker relaxed the name rules?)

Greg Simpson wrote:... Has Volker relaxed the name rules?)

Yes: http://wbforum.vpittlik.org/viewtopic.php?p=26935

I guess the name is ok. I've been a member of the winboard forum twice before, i first joined in 2003 i think. My first account was deleted by the 6 month inactiviy rule i think or maybe it was lost in a server migration not sure. I chose another name this time because i havent been on in over a year and dont recall my moniker and suspect its been deleted for inactiviy. I recalled from the last time i joined that unintelligable names like rkpost9 were not allowed so i chose PulsarMike becuase it was an identifying name. My first name is Mike and my chess program is pulsar. My real name is Mike Adams actually which can be confusing for people as its the same as gm mike adams. Thats partly why i dont go by Mike Adams on chess sites.

Mike

www.adam16mr.org/pulsar.html

PulsarMike wrote:I guess the name is ok.

Oh, I was sure it was ok, or you wouldn't be posting here. I just didn't understand why it was ok. Somehow I failed to associate PulsarMike with your engine being pulsar, so chalk the question up to my own stupidity.