DonationCoder.com Software > SMF Forum Mods

DC SMF Search Mod - an improvement search for smf forum (codename Zillarank)

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mouser:
I wasn't very clear --
basically what happened is that when we released the modification, instead of a thank you we got someone an official smf person complaining that due to a tiny technicality we were violating their license and we should correct it within a few days or face legal action.  in fairness the correction we were being asked to make was minor, but the only attitude left me with a really bad taste in my mouth, and it's a non-sensical rule that just makes it harder for people to share their mods, so that's why i had such a negative reaction.

cranioscopical:
instead of a thank you we got someone an official smf person complaining that due to a tiny technicality we were violating their license and we should correct it within a few days or face legal action...  left me with a really bad taste in my mouth.
--- End quote ---

Small-minded people abound who are concerned with the letter of the law and not its spirit. I can well understand (and share) the initial flare of...annoyance. Aggravating though such people may be, it would be a pity to deny the larger community of SMF users the chance to benefit from the good work that's just been completed here. Might it be worth trying to make contact with someone at SMF who does enjoy a modicum of common sense, in order to see if a sensible distribution can be negotiated and 'sanctioned'? Don't take your ball and go home, that puts you in their league. Count to ten and try again?

mouser:
I'm still hoping someone at smf will wake up.
Here was my initial response and maybe it will shed some light on my feelings:

from smf reply to wordzilla posting his modification for others:
UPDATE: It has been agreed that including the full Search.php file is redistribution, which you have not been given the permission to do. As the package already includes the modifications in the xml file, just remove the Search.php file and you'll be compliant. If we don't see this fixed by Friday, we will be forced to escalate the issue (and we really don't want to have to do it, it is a waste of time for everyone).
--- End quote ---

And my reply:

I understand that when big corporations get involved in things that things get more confusing, but this response to us trying to share an improvement that we finally gave up waiting for smf to fix and wrote ourselves, after i've been asking smf to pay some attention to for almost a year, is mind boggling to me.

My inclination at this point is to just take down this mod, and the other inline image mod we did that people seem to like, and just never mind.

I understand you are just doing your job but I'd really like the smf coders to take a reconsider if this is the approach they want to take with these things, it's just the wrong attitude in my opinion.  We included a mod, and then the patched version of one file.  It's just silly to object to that.  For people like me who do not use package mods and modify the files themselves, stopping people from including a modified file is insane.

If i sound bit peeved it's because after all of this time asking people to fix the bugs in smf search, what i really expected was a "cool, thanks for working on this and sharing it!".

We'll remove our mods and maybe this can spark a discussion on simplemachines about changing your approach to mod writers, if not, que sera sera.  Please understand I'm not mad at you Motoko-chan, I'm sure you are just doing your job.  That's why my protest is against your job instructions and why i want someone who makes the rules to read this post and think about this approach.
--- End quote ---

jgpaiva:
Very good post, mouser.
I also support your points.

mouser:
You'll probably sense that a good deal of my anger about this stems from the fact that it's been almost a year since i've been trying to get someone at smf to fix their broken search code, and felt like i was just speaking into the wind, mystified that no one was taking the broken search issue seriously.

Then when wordzilla agreed to devote his time to improving it, and went through the considerable effort to creating something others could benefit from, and we posted it, i was sure that wordzilla would see some very happy smf people, thrilled that he shared his improved code.  All the time he was working on it I was telling him how wonderful this would be to all smf forum admins, and cheering him on.  He did a lot of work he didn't have to in order that it could be understood and used by others.

When I finally posted it i was anxiously waiting for the nice replies about wordzilla's mod and the thanks he surely deserved.

Instead, we got one comment, accusing us of violating a rule that makes no sense and threatening to "escalate the issue" if it's not fixed by friday.  If this is how they thank people who are trying to improve their software and help their community, then count me out.

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