Source Code Debates
Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2021 11:01 am
So i just had a long chat with not 1 but a group of people on a message board and i feel some venting is necessary.
I am not sure when but seems over time a sense of entitlement has grown among the bbs community where someone
feels because your product is dated you are OBLIGATED to release the source so others can advance it if you are no
longer supporting it, or if you still are it should be FREE so others can tinker with it. And the #1 reasoning for this is
"it's a bbs game, lol" so look.... regardless of what it is, someone still put their time into this, and in some cases LOTS
of it to create a product, outside of the Major BBS scene door games averaged around 10-20 dollars and on the
Major BBS side they hade wide ranges based on ifs and thats. But using the "it's a bbs game" game does not fly,
and has has no bearing. Rather it be a text adventure game written for the cp/m pc in 1985 or a major bbs module
written in 1995, this has nothing to do with the fact you do not deserve this source code. Yes Galacticomm pushed for
a more commercial product than the others but i cannot tell you the countless 4-8 user systems i saw pop up in the
90's running as hobby boards, or even the 16+ user systems that the sysop still held a day job and did it for fun.
And let's not forget the thousands of other bbs boards that popped up here and there for many years.
Now some of those sysops created games, yes for profit, but just because time passed does not give their effort
any less value. Now i will agree that if certain time has passed and the authors are not touching it any more, lost it,
or just do not care, sure use what text/data you can get from the original and build your own codebase, give the
original the respect it deserves in the credits and go to town, and that should be ok, but as far as the author
is obligated to release the code is horse #&%$. If you want the code that badly on an old program, umm write
your own? i mean hell i did it, i have written my own versions of Tele-Arena, Legend Of The Red Dragon, Usurper,
and Trade Wars II-500T and not once did i feel the author NEEDED to give me anything. With Trade Wars we're talking
about a 1986 released game. I do not want to negatively impact the open software foundation but i almost feel like
it is such a crutch now to creativity. Someone would rather download someone else's code and mod it than sit down and
hammer out your their engine. And this is not a new conversation i had this morning, these types of topics are EVERYWHERE
where people actually argue with authors that it was just a bbs game what is the big deal. The big deal is if in 2021 you are
still enjoying their creation but due to age it is dated and needs expansions done, then it is well worth the money the author
originally spent and you should focus on gaining their permission to make a sequel not arguing with them that due to age they
should GIVE you the code they spent countless hours, days, months, or even years to create.
I have a Tele-Arena source i built from scratch using the original only as a reference and i started it in 2009, finished in 2013, and
after several tweaks and enhancements just recently finished it which is a complete game with full in-game editors where sysops can
do whatever they want and edit ANYTHING on the fly with no reboots or system disruptions.... now if Rick ever releases his full
catalog open-source would i ever release that code? NO.... why? because i spent a better half of my adulthood creating it, it means
something to me, and this is something that has escaped the younger generations now... why not just download something and
fork my own? this has become a cancer within not only the software world, music, movie, literature, entire industries becoming
crippled because peopel would rather download someone else's derivative works than create an original or gain permission to create
your own. I have a small bbs game i write in 2005 based off of a very popular franchise and received their permission to create my
own canon of their ip as long as i mention in the credits it is my version of their ip and not based on theirs. Most recently i gained permission
from the Star Trek rights holders to replicate names, lore, things like that with no stipulations in an upcoming game.
We need more originals and less forks..... yes it is great to stumble upon old source codes of great products, but in no way shape or form
do the authors owe us anything based on the age of the product.
#RantOver
I am not sure when but seems over time a sense of entitlement has grown among the bbs community where someone
feels because your product is dated you are OBLIGATED to release the source so others can advance it if you are no
longer supporting it, or if you still are it should be FREE so others can tinker with it. And the #1 reasoning for this is
"it's a bbs game, lol" so look.... regardless of what it is, someone still put their time into this, and in some cases LOTS
of it to create a product, outside of the Major BBS scene door games averaged around 10-20 dollars and on the
Major BBS side they hade wide ranges based on ifs and thats. But using the "it's a bbs game" game does not fly,
and has has no bearing. Rather it be a text adventure game written for the cp/m pc in 1985 or a major bbs module
written in 1995, this has nothing to do with the fact you do not deserve this source code. Yes Galacticomm pushed for
a more commercial product than the others but i cannot tell you the countless 4-8 user systems i saw pop up in the
90's running as hobby boards, or even the 16+ user systems that the sysop still held a day job and did it for fun.
And let's not forget the thousands of other bbs boards that popped up here and there for many years.
Now some of those sysops created games, yes for profit, but just because time passed does not give their effort
any less value. Now i will agree that if certain time has passed and the authors are not touching it any more, lost it,
or just do not care, sure use what text/data you can get from the original and build your own codebase, give the
original the respect it deserves in the credits and go to town, and that should be ok, but as far as the author
is obligated to release the code is horse #&%$. If you want the code that badly on an old program, umm write
your own? i mean hell i did it, i have written my own versions of Tele-Arena, Legend Of The Red Dragon, Usurper,
and Trade Wars II-500T and not once did i feel the author NEEDED to give me anything. With Trade Wars we're talking
about a 1986 released game. I do not want to negatively impact the open software foundation but i almost feel like
it is such a crutch now to creativity. Someone would rather download someone else's code and mod it than sit down and
hammer out your their engine. And this is not a new conversation i had this morning, these types of topics are EVERYWHERE
where people actually argue with authors that it was just a bbs game what is the big deal. The big deal is if in 2021 you are
still enjoying their creation but due to age it is dated and needs expansions done, then it is well worth the money the author
originally spent and you should focus on gaining their permission to make a sequel not arguing with them that due to age they
should GIVE you the code they spent countless hours, days, months, or even years to create.
I have a Tele-Arena source i built from scratch using the original only as a reference and i started it in 2009, finished in 2013, and
after several tweaks and enhancements just recently finished it which is a complete game with full in-game editors where sysops can
do whatever they want and edit ANYTHING on the fly with no reboots or system disruptions.... now if Rick ever releases his full
catalog open-source would i ever release that code? NO.... why? because i spent a better half of my adulthood creating it, it means
something to me, and this is something that has escaped the younger generations now... why not just download something and
fork my own? this has become a cancer within not only the software world, music, movie, literature, entire industries becoming
crippled because peopel would rather download someone else's derivative works than create an original or gain permission to create
your own. I have a small bbs game i write in 2005 based off of a very popular franchise and received their permission to create my
own canon of their ip as long as i mention in the credits it is my version of their ip and not based on theirs. Most recently i gained permission
from the Star Trek rights holders to replicate names, lore, things like that with no stipulations in an upcoming game.
We need more originals and less forks..... yes it is great to stumble upon old source codes of great products, but in no way shape or form
do the authors owe us anything based on the age of the product.
#RantOver