Release new bare-bones web repo / mirror

[DaMummy]

its not a problem if its a good idea. the problem is he didnt get the authors permission to sell their product. and quite frankly, hes being a real jackass. coming from me, thats saying something

 

[pmprog]

It's actually a good idea to have such a thing as a commercial bundle and with this people who maintain this (as much as possible).

Urm, there's a massive total of 3 commercial releases for the Pandora.


I'm wondering where DREDD is going to get the SCUMM games from, considering most can no longer be purchased in regular shops

 

[sswam]

You are just ripping other people's work without their authorization.

Any person who buys Mr. Ellison's classic game "I have no mouth and I must scream" at my shop for $32 + P&H


will receive a boxed CD-ROM from The Harlan Ellison Recording Collection. I will not profit from the sale.

Please remove Pandoraclock from your server.

I'm sorry that you appear to be angry with me.


Pandoraclock can no longer be downloaded from my server. It is featured in the new non-free section.


I implemented your request by means of an HTTP 307 redirect, so as not to inconvenience my users. If you change your mind, please let me know.

 

[mcobit]

I have a question:


Is this thing synced to the repo in any way or are you just maintaining it manually?


I just ask, beacuse, if anyone pulls an app from the repo because it does harm your system or does something, that is not right in any other way, like violating copyright etc, will it be removed from your server, too?


Edit: If not, this server would have the same problem, like the apps page, where a dev cannot maintain his work himself.


If you sync it with the repo though and delete all removed apps and mark all disabled apps as not downloadable, I would have no problem with this.


In this case you should sync multiple times a day though.

 

[sswam]

I'm wondering where DREDD is going to get the SCUMM games from, considering most can no longer be purchased in regular shops

I'm only selling the ones that can be purchased brand-new.

Pollo Pollo is open source and not to be sold (you can check the readme in the PSP download if you wish)... oh wait... hmmmmm...

The copyright holder is allowed to change the license for a new release.

 

[pmprog]

The copyright holder is allowed to change the license for a new release.

Yes, I removed my comment (made the edit clear). I was dubious about the ownership, but then managed to find an article of Toni in spanish which I translated. So yeah, I guess I was too cynical

 

[sswam]

If you sync it with the repo though and delete all removed apps and mark all disabled apps as not downloadable, I would have no problem with this.

It updates from the repo, but does not remove or disable apps yet.


I will do that, thanks for the suggestion. There are some slight technical obstacles!


The sync process is light-weight. At the moment I run it manually when I feel like it,


but can run it from cron every half hour once I'm certain it works correctly.


I also intend to serve the metadata for the packages (PXML), and present it nicely. It's a work in progress.


I intend to replicate pandoria.org across my 3 servers, but need to get some disk space upgrades first.


The current server is in Australia, and occassionally someone is DoSing it from Spain :S


http://sam.nipl.net/code/nipl-tools/sbin/ip_block

 

[Wootson]

You cannot redistribute any releases that you do not have permission for from the original author(s). It really is that simple. I strongly advise you to stop your actions immediately, because if any of the original developers/publishers gets to know about this then you will most surely have a big problem. Especially with you admitting all your actions in detail in this topic. It's also a slap in the face for the Pandora community in general, because it is highly unwanted to attract any bad publicity to such a relatively small community. Some PND's also have a GPL license or something similar, which therefore cannot be redistributed.


For example GOG.com is a man-in-the-middle which distributes commercial releases to the public via Internet. They need to have signed contracts with the original creators and distributors of the games in order to distribute the games themselves (GOG's custom executables).


And really, does the Pandora community need yet another repository? You are only decentralizing things even more, which is totally unwanted in any small community.

 

[sswam]

Some PND's also have a GPL license or something similar, which therefore cannot be redistributed.

This statement about the GPL is not quite right, although there is a problem: we need to collect the source code for all the GPL'd code that is in PNDs. That's another project which I am starting to tackle at http://pandoria.org/src/


I think it's unfortunate that so many people are taking a negative and hostile attitude to my work here.


You could instead choose to be critical but constructive, like a few people have been.

 

[Binky]

And really, does the Pandora community need yet another repository? You are only decentralizing things even more, which is totally unwanted in any small community.

I think super-lightweight repo is a good idea. It doesn't decentralise by virtue of syncing with the main repo - could be useful if/when ED's server goes down.


On the subject of of reselling commercial games, I would read every EULA, every license, every terms & conditions of sale that could be relevant, very carefully. Then maybe discuss it with a lawyer


I suggest that everytime an app is pulled from the main repo, it gets disabled on the aussie repo, and put of a list to be checked, they could then be made available again after then have been shown to be legal etc

 

[Wootson]

Mate, I've read all your comments and you seem to have an answer to everything anybody has posted in this topic. I'm not threatening you or anything, but let's see how great your idea is next month when enough people have gotten air of this. Setting up yet another repository is one thing, but redistributing (thus reselling) commercial games is a whole different thing. Reselling ScummVM games is an even greater way to get yourself into trouble.


I also think all repositories should have some kind of notification whether a PND can be redistributed or not. Deep inside an EULA is not a very good option: make it absolutely clear on the download page.

 

[ShleeDragon]

Has anybody bothered to contact the developer and ask their opinion?

 

[ZXDunny]

Please remove your copies of fmn.pnd and spheresofchaos.pnd. You do not have my permission to host them.


I gained access to their source code from two good friends of mine (well, one was an acquaintance who's a very nice chap) on the understanding that distribution would be controlled, the repo being used for that. I do not want to jeopardise my relationship with other coders who might open their source to me by allowing people to copy my ports anywhere they wish without me challenging them - I have to be able to show that I do try to control my builds.


I think I shall have to look into some sort of DRM for my next closed-source port if this is going to happen.


D.

 

[ekianjo]

I think it's unfortunate that so many people are taking a negative and hostile attitude to my work here.


You could instead choose to be critical but constructive, like a few people have been.

Well if you asked before taking the work of others and putting it somewhese else without prior agreement, you would probably get much more constructive feedback.


So, can I come in your house and stay over without telling you? That's the same kind of attitude you are showing : doing first, asking later. That goes against all principles that this community has been defending so far.

 

[Binky]

Perhaps disable everything on the repo mirror until every pnd has been checked for licensing/author approval?

 

[diligentcircle]

DREDD, I didn't see where this talk was moved to (no note from a moderator in the VVVVVV topic), so I sent you a PM. It's pretty long, but please read it. Feel free to respond to it in this topic; in fact, I encourage it.

Some PND's also have a GPL license or something similar, which therefore cannot be redistributed.

You have it backwards. The GNU GPL is a free software license; it specifically allows redistribution by anyone, as well as modification. What you cannot redistribute is proprietary software.


EDIT:

I also think all repositories should have some kind of notification whether a PND can be redistributed or not. Deep inside an EULA is not a very good option: make it absolutely clear on the download page.

It would be nice if the Repo showed what license the PND says it is and (if applicable) listed the source code URL. As it is now, the only way to find out for a lot of programs is to find the PXML and look at it manually.

 

[ShleeDragon]

"He's not starting the pirate box... he's just repackaging an existing product in a new box. It's contentious because we're under the impression he wants a slice of the pie himself. #profit"

 

[Geca]

PolloPollo is released by the owner and creator of original PSP version, now Toni have his company called Benu Digital (the old name is newolds). I'm only a partner and programmer of Pandora version, I don't release any commercial game by myself (GECA soft), at the moment all my ports and small games are FREE (but this is not the point here).


Dredd, about your pack, I stay in silence until now, but I think people have explain very well to you the rights you need to create a pack like that. Of course you cannot do that.


Please understand, the decisions and licences of distributing PolloPollo are decisions from Benu Digital, I can't decide only by myself this. Personally I appreciate you support my work (thanks again for your PayPal donation), but in this case, is not my decision and responsability give or not rights to distribute PolloPollo outside the repo. I don't talk about this with Toni (Benu Digital), but I believe he don't like the idea. Sorry.

 

[PokeParadox]

The point is... it's a good idea in terms of the end-user yes, It's a service of convenience and such.


What everyone is trying to tell you is, despite your good intentions, you need to approach this the correct way.


You could pull the email from the PND and email the author if they are ok with redistributing their PND.


The main thing that is worrying me here, is the commerical aspect... You really really really need to contact the authors of commercial stuff and setup an agreement with them before doing stuff like this or we will get the wrong sort of attention around here...

 

[ekianjo]

It would be nice if the Repo showed what license the PND says it is and (if applicable) listed the source code URL. As it is now, the only way to find out for a lot of programs is to find the PXML and look at it manually.

Yeah, but that is a necessary verification. Dredd is very wrong to assume that all PNDs are under GPL or something. My application is certainly not, and I am pretty sure this is the case for a number of other applications, too.