Licensing requirements for developers: a primer

[Bolt]

Nope. If it's not in the spirit of open-source though, it gets moved to Restricted. (It's easier to just include a license, but stating what you just did should work too)

[Azu-nyan]

Originally Posted by xeatmyshorts

long short, are developers REQUIRED to add a license to post a game on this site?

Yes, yes you are. You need to have some form of license, even if you make it up yourself.

[itsnotabigtruck]

Originally Posted by xeatmyshorts

i am just wondering, will it be necessary to have a license for our game to be up?
like if we dont include a license, will you remove it?

because, i tend to keep my games/apps open source, and its too tedious to take the time to make a license for them. i dont care if people edit my game and whatnot, they can do whatever with it, just as long as they leave credit where it is due, and ask me first, which pretty much was already needed before this license thing.

long short, are developers REQUIRED to add a license to post a game on this site?

You can release the game under any license you want, even a custom one of your own, provided that it meets the Open Source Definition. A consequence of this is that you can't require people to ask you to modify your game. However, you can require people to give credit for any modifications.

It sounds like the BSD license is the best choice for you. Put the BSD license at the top of each code file and change the copyright notice to read something like "Copyright (c) 2009 xeatmyshorts". The license requires that the copyright notice not be removed, meaning that it'll be plainly apparent where the code came from if anyone downloads it.

[xCyberFang]

Originally Posted by Bolt

Nope. If it's not in the spirit of open-source though, it gets moved to Restricted. (It's easier to just include a license, but stating what you just did should work too)

dont mean to sound rude but it would be easier for me to just post the game on the site and leave the license stuff out, it would be quicker and simpler instead of having to copy that license and paste it in each one.

i would understand the big games like Velgards Fate, Bombtastic, Arcade Classics, and any other game that gets alot of hits or games that seem pretty far enough to be called games and not just projects, but if its something like a pong or a tic tac toe or something, like an example or sample or whatever you wanna call it, it would be easy to just upload it to a site then make a quick thread.

its just the least thing i wanna do is sound like a business geek from microsoft (you know, the ones who make you have to log onto their website and read their TOS all every single time they update it, even if your just wanting to sync maybe just one thing?).

[itsnotabigtruck]

Originally Posted by xeatmyshorts

dont mean to sound rude but it would be easier for me to just post the game on the site and leave the license stuff out, it would be quicker and simpler instead of having to copy that license and paste it in each one.

i would understand the big games like Velgards Fate, Bombtastic, Arcade Classics, and any other game that gets alot of hits or games that seem pretty far enough to be called games and not just projects, but if its something like a pong or a tic tac toe or something, like an example or sample or whatever you wanna call it, it would be easy to just upload it to a site then make a quick thread.

its just the least thing i wanna do is sound like a business geek from microsoft (you know, the ones who make you have to log onto their website and read their TOS all every single time they update it, even if your just wanting to sync maybe just one thing?).

No one is going to think you're a "business geek from Microsoft" if you take the time to put a license on your game. If it's worth releasing, it's worth taking the 5 minutes to make sure everything is legit.

Just copy and paste what's in the box below into the top of each code file and change "filename.cs" to the actual name of the file. .zip that all up and add it to your post and you'll be good to go.

/* filename.cs
 * Copyright (c) 2009 xeatmyshorts.
 * 
 * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
 * modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
 * 
 * - Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice,
 *   this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
 * - Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice,
 *   this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation
 *   and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
 * - Neither the name of the author nor the names of any contributors
 *   may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
 *   without specific prior written permission.
 * 
 * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS"
 * AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
 * IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
 * ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE
 * LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR
 * CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF
 * SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS
 * INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN
 * CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE)
 * ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE
 * POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
 */

[chill808]

So to be clear on this, because it seems a little confusing. I would include a link in my post, and include a text file with a license. As long as those two things are done then my program will be considered licensed?

[Netrix]

Originally Posted by chill808

So to be clear on this, because it seems a little confusing. I would include a link in my post, and include a text file with a license. As long as those two things are done then my program will be considered licensed?

Yes, put the license within the ZIP file that the link directs to.

[chill808]

Cool, not to big of a deal thanks for the info

[Bolt]

You would have to include a solution too. Having a solution and a .ccgame seems to work best, and is the most convenient.