mangos foundation - we are getting there

[void513]

I may be a little Paranoid.but due to nature of mangos this whole legal thing might be getting a little big .and might attract unwanted attention from blizzard or someone else that might shutdown the mangos project.keep it small rely on the mangos community for helpwhere funding or the mangos but keep small and unnoticed or i fear they the might get shutdown

[Unkle Nuke]

That is the entire point for this discussion, to provide legal and political protections for what is done here so none may ever bury it. Although legal in many jurisdictions, some countries do regard parts of the MaNGOS project as a violation of intellectual property laws. The idea behind the MaNGOS Foundation is to create an advocating body to promote "freedom to learn" as an inalienable human right that deserves greater protection under the law, in counter to the erosion or abolishment of this right by other interested parties.

Fortunately, my own country has not yet denied me the opportunity to learn about MaNGOS. It is still legal to reverse-engineer a game or other software, intercept and interpret network data sent between my computer and any server, and even to create original works based upon that information. I believe those authors or companies have the right to earn money for what they have created, but their rights end at the point where they begin taking mine just to protect profits.

MaNGOS has never promoted piracy, nor do they condone the use of their creation for others to make profit against the legal authors of game clients for which this software can be used. This is a learning project done purely for the joy of figuring out how a game server works, nothing more. In fact, you would be in violation of the MaNGOS license if you make use of their software to operate a server open to the public. This is all plainly spelled out in the agreement for anyone to read.

We could choose to cower in the shadows, hoping none will notice. Would it ensure that we and those who follow will always enjoy the freedom to learn how something works and to then build upon it? It might, but that's not a certainty. Then again, history has taught us many times that those who chose silence only ensured the growth of their oppressors. We may fall in making a stand, but the idea would then be out there for others to take up and champion. You cannot kill an idea, but it will surely die if it is never born into the world. The greater the idea, the greater the risk will be and the more that you must risk to fight for it.

Perhaps it would be best to describe MaNGOS as an Open Learning, rather than Open Source, project. Both are correct, but the former describes the intent of this project better than the latter term.

However, there is no requirement for anyone to take up the cause in this manner. Some just cannot do so for many reasons. The good news is there are many ways you can support MaNGOS. Whether you keep the source code alive and growing by programming, keep the community alive and growing by taking part in the discussions, or promote the idea of open source and open learning in general, you can help MaNGOS to endure for many years to come. The limits are bounded only by your imagination and the time you give.

We're all in this together, each doing their part in their way.

[void513]

I agree wth freedom to learn from this but the company like blizzard wont see it that way.and will shut it down i have seen many open source projects like this closed down specialy if the company based in USA.and not saying cower in the shadows but be carefull most big company wont give a crap about your rights or if you are being oppressed.all they care about a profitand most company dont want you to reverse engineer there server whether it for security or greed.the mangos community should stay as it is under radar not hiding in the shadow.this whole legal thing is like a red flare say im revers engineer your software.eventualy U.S will push to enforce the law in other countries. and the whole legal deal might be a catalyst to start that.where ever the mangos foundation is based i notice the U.S wil put pressure on a counrty if some one in another counrty breaking there laws.so if these legal.this may be a bad example but pirates bay switzerland i think the contry base in o this megauploads in austria.there no Guarantee that completey protect mangos project or it ppl.a company can get U.S political pressure on country goverment.turn over the guilty part even if they a suppose to be legal in there counrty. nobody want mangos to stay around more then i do i have learn a lot on mysl.compiling and many more things from this project.and would hate to see it gone

[Unkle Nuke]

I understand your concerns. None of us want to ever see that day come when the jack-boots of stormtroopers come breaking down the door to drag MaNGOS off into the night.

The plain fact is that there is little to prevent this if enough political pressure is brought to bear, especially if all that is ever done is for people to simply hope no notice is ever taken. It won't be easy for them to do so and we can only hope the men of integrity will resist outside influences by corporate dollars. In this regard, you must bear in mind that TheLuda is no fool. He did seek legal counsel when founding MaNGOS, to ensure the legality of the project and offer some protection against the wave of terror that swept many previous WoW server projects off the Internet. By equal measure, he has carefully weighed many considerations in proposing a legal body that will also offer advocacy for human rights, to try and turn the tide back in favor of liberty.

Being an open source project, MaNGOS will never truly die. If the entire project were shut down this very day, someone, somewhere, will take their copy of the source code and carry on with what was begun here. Nearly all the server projects today were founded upon the bones of dead projects. The only ones that truly disappeared into oblivion were the closed projects. This is why I am so deeply grateful for the generosity of the MaNGOS team in freely offering everyone unfettered access to the source code.

If you do not feel political activism is safe, then please do give to this community in whatever way you can. We always need good programmers that understand the workings of MaNGOS and the game client. People willing to test patches and give useful feedback are ever in short supply. So many of the guides and tutorials need a fresh update, to keep current with changes in the server and the computers that run it. There's a constant influx of new members who need help with technical problems they encounter while learning how to patch, compile, and configure their first server. You can offer so much good in so many ways to help keep MaNGOS alive. Put your fears to rest and enjoy your time here.