Source Code

If we buy this for the $1000 do we get the source code to make changes or add custom work? Also do we get to remove the boonex text?

Quote · 31 Aug 2011

Dolphin is an open source product, with only the advertisement-specific code being encrypted. You can remove the advertisements by purchasing a paid license.

 

If you're talking about the mobile apps, you will have to purchase a license for them, which will provide you with the source code.

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Quote · 31 Aug 2011

 Under what open source license is dolphin released under?  Do you have a link handy for the license? Can't find it on the site.

 

Quote · 31 Aug 2011

/***************************************************************************
*                            Dolphin Smart Community Builder
*                              -----------------
*     begin                : Mon Mar 23 2006
*     copyright            : (C) 2006 BoonEx Group
*     website              : http://www.boonex.com/
* This file is part of Dolphin - Smart Community Builder
*
* Dolphin is free software. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
* http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
*
* Dolphin is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY;
* without even the implied warranty of  MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
* See the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License for more details.
* You should have received a copy of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License along with Dolphin,
* see license.txt file; if not, write to marketing@boonex.com
***************************************************************************/

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Quote · 31 Aug 2011

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 is not "Open Source" to my knowledge.

Check here:

http://www.opensource.org/licenses/alphabetical

 

Did anyone at boonex even read the license ? hahah

"Can I use a Creative Commons license for software?"

"We do not recommend it. Creative Commons licenses should not be used for software. We strongly encourage you to use one of the very good software licenses which are already available. We recommend considering licenses made available by the Free Software Foundation or listed at the Open Source Initiative. Unlike our licenses, which do not make mention of source or object code, these existing licenses were designed specifically for use with software. Furthermore, our licenses are not compatible with the GPL, the most frequently used free software license."

 

This one is nice too :

"Can I insist on the exact placement of the attribution credit for my work?"

"No. CC licenses allow for flexibility in the way credit is provided depending on the means used by a licensee to re-distribute the work."

 

Why would you avoid the GPL? I still see GPL in some of your headers so at some point I guess it was gpl?

 

Confused. Just really open source it and sell modules and support like everyone else :) From the looks of trac you guys could use some help , but the badgeware scares real developers off.

 

-barry

Quote · 31 Aug 2011

It only said that it wasn't recommended, not that it wasn't forbidden. You'll also find this under the the conditions section of the license (this is from the human-readable page):

 

"Attribution — You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work)."

 

Source: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

 

BoonEx used to release its software under the GPL license, but this changed a few years ago. If I had to guess, it was because of the banners used to promote their paid license.

 

I should also add that the GPL is not the open source definition, but one of the many licenses available to release open source software under.

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Quote · 1 Sep 2011

Yea I read it , and it makes sense why you would not use it for software, and yes I know gpl is not the definition of open source but it is OSI approved and CC is not , so dolphin is not "open source".  

 

-barry

Quote · 1 Sep 2011

 

Yea I read it , and it makes sense why you would not use it for software, and yes I know gpl is not the definition of open source but it is OSI approved and CC is not , so dolphin is not "open source".  

 

-barry

I suppose you're right about it not being an OSI-approved license, and Creative Commons does recommend other licenses for software, while theirs is more suited towards creative works.

 

I have in the past raised the problem with calling the script open source, but not because of the license. It seems difficult to call the script open source when portions of the code is encoded (which are related to the licenses and advertisements).

 

Regardless of whether the script is actually open source per the official definition, the portions of the code that really matter are in no way encoded or encrypted, and you can make all the needed changes without purchasing a license (so long as you keep the advertisements and not null the script). I think this is what matters the most.

 

In the end, though, I am neither a lawyer, nor someone who has enough legal experience in this area to really comment on the issue.

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Quote · 1 Sep 2011

  I just wish boonex would do something radical to get more people involved in this project. One of the reasons for low turnout is the badgeware / weird license that boonex is using. While I am not a lawyer either I trust the GPL/LGPL as being truly "open source", might be a start. We need more eyes on the code and a larger install base because the tech is changing faster than boonex is updating the code. SugarCRM had this problem years ago before they switched to GPL. This is defianly devloped and supported "cathedral" if you want to use the cathedral vs the bazaar analogy. 

 

At this point I am stuck with dolphin on this one project , but I can't see myself ever using it again unless something drastically changes. The eco-system here just doesn't work , look at all the forum posts that go unanswered. I have bought modules that are encrypted(not knowing before I paid), before boonex I didn't know there was such a beast. I have posted some questions in the forums and usually all I get are solicitations via IM to pay someone for help. Seems the eco-system they created breeds this mentality. Can't tell you how many times I searched for a problem I was having and someone already asked and got no response.

Diaspora is a social network platform that is being heavily developed and is truly an open source project that is generating investment and a ton of interest. Boonex had the lead on this, so one has to wonder what they are doing wrong?

 

-barry 

Quote · 1 Sep 2011

 

  I just wish boonex would do something radical to get more people involved in this project. One of the reasons for low turnout is the badgeware / weird license that boonex is using. While I am not a lawyer either I trust the GPL/LGPL as being truly "open source", might be a start. We need more eyes on the code and a larger install base because the tech is changing faster than boonex is updating the code. SugarCRM had this problem years ago before they switched to GPL. This is defianly devloped and supported "cathedral" if you want to use the cathedral vs the bazaar analogy. 

I disagree that the current license is a problem. It allows you to make any changes, so long as you respect the attribution requirement (read: the advertisements). It doesn't pose any problems, as far as I know.

 

There's nothing stopping you or others from submitting patches to improve the script. You can always message an administrator or developer, or submit a patch when creating a ticket in the tracker. I am currently updating most of the language keys (the compiled text, not the actual key name) and other parts of the script to provide a more polished look. I'm not doing this for my own sake, but for the sake of the script and the hundreds of others who use it.

 

At this point I am stuck with dolphin on this one project , but I can't see myself ever using it again unless something drastically changes. The eco-system here just doesn't work , look at all the forum posts that go unanswered. I have bought modules that are encrypted(not knowing before I paid), before boonex I didn't know there was such a beast. I have posted some questions in the forums and usually all I get are solicitations via IM to pay someone for help. Seems the eco-system they created breeds this mentality. Can't tell you how many times I searched for a problem I was having and someone already asked and got no response.

Diaspora is a social network platform that is being heavily developed and is truly an open source project that is generating investment and a ton of interest. Boonex had the lead on this, so one has to wonder what they are doing wrong?

 

-barry

I don't agree with the extent some developers have gone to protect their products. I don't see anything wrong with a license system, but when you encrypt the entire product, you're hurting the customer. I'm pleased to say that many developers here have changed their practices and now only the license-specific code is encrypted, but not all developers have made these changes. You're absolutely right that developers should be required to list whether their product is encrypted or not, and to what excent.

 

I don't post in every topic. If I don't know the answer, I will not post, and that's usually the same for everyone else. It's possible the right person hasn't come along and seen the topic, or the question the person is asking simply cannot be answered in the forums (such as wanting to implement a new feature or integrating a script, and wanting someone to post a how-to).

 

It's also common for someone to post a question that has already been answered over a hundred times. I recommend people search the forums before submitting a topic, and by search, I mean to click through all the search result pages.

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Quote · 1 Sep 2011
 
 
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