Comments on: WordPress Plugin Directory Jumps the Shark? http://www.jackborn.com/wordpress/wordpress-directory-jumps-the-shark/ Jack Born's website for website marketing tutorials and tools Sun, 08 Aug 2010 04:54:13 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Jack http://www.jackborn.com/wordpress/wordpress-directory-jumps-the-shark/comment-page-1/#comment-5203 Jack Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:45:58 +0000 http://www.jackborn.com/word-press/wordpress-directory-jumps-the-shark/#comment-5203 Steve, This post is pretty old. I think at the time I was just upset that a plugin I had created would be excluded unless I GPL licensed it, and frankly, these days it doesn't matter very much to me. But to answer your question more directly, I was referring to the discussion over the specific wording of the GPL license... not the WordPress directory. Neither one has a huge impact on my business at all, but I could argue that at the time I made this post, the directory had <em>some</em> effect. Steve,
This post is pretty old. I think at the time I was just upset that a plugin I had created would be excluded unless I GPL licensed it, and frankly, these days it doesn’t matter very much to me.

But to answer your question more directly, I was referring to the discussion over the specific wording of the GPL license… not the WordPress directory.

Neither one has a huge impact on my business at all, but I could argue that at the time I made this post, the directory had some effect.

]]> By: steve http://www.jackborn.com/wordpress/wordpress-directory-jumps-the-shark/comment-page-1/#comment-5199 steve Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:01:06 +0000 http://www.jackborn.com/word-press/wordpress-directory-jumps-the-shark/#comment-5199 Jack if the new directory has no impact on your business why make a post on it? Jack if the new directory has no impact on your business why make a post on it?

]]> By: Jack http://www.jackborn.com/wordpress/wordpress-directory-jumps-the-shark/comment-page-1/#comment-4444 Jack Thu, 28 Feb 2008 19:10:45 +0000 http://www.jackborn.com/word-press/wordpress-directory-jumps-the-shark/#comment-4444 Otto, You've made your point and we will have to agree to disagree. I'm not going to get into a pissing match with you over something that has no impact on my business. Otto,
You’ve made your point and we will have to agree to disagree.

I’m not going to get into a pissing match with you over something that has no impact on my business.

]]> By: Otto http://www.jackborn.com/wordpress/wordpress-directory-jumps-the-shark/comment-page-1/#comment-4442 Otto Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:27:44 +0000 http://www.jackborn.com/word-press/wordpress-directory-jumps-the-shark/#comment-4442 Then you're wrong. Read it closer. "If identifiable sections of that work are not derived from the Program..." Anything making a call on a WordPress hook is derived from WordPress. If you call any WordPress function, if you use any of the WordPress internal structures, then you are deriving from WordPress. If your plugin consists of nothing more than a collection of independent functions, has no configuration screen, and does not call any WordPress function or variable, then sure, you could make a non-GPL'd WordPress plugin without violating the GPL. But I'd bet that you'd be hard pressed to find a plugin that does all that. Then you’re wrong. Read it closer.

“If identifiable sections of that work are not derived from the Program…”

Anything making a call on a WordPress hook is derived from WordPress. If you call any WordPress function, if you use any of the WordPress internal structures, then you are deriving from WordPress.

If your plugin consists of nothing more than a collection of independent functions, has no configuration screen, and does not call any WordPress function or variable, then sure, you could make a non-GPL’d WordPress plugin without violating the GPL. But I’d bet that you’d be hard pressed to find a plugin that does all that.

]]> By: Jack http://www.jackborn.com/wordpress/wordpress-directory-jumps-the-shark/comment-page-1/#comment-4340 Jack Tue, 26 Feb 2008 17:26:56 +0000 http://www.jackborn.com/word-press/wordpress-directory-jumps-the-shark/#comment-4340 Otto, Thanks for your comment, but I disagree with your interpretation of the GPL license. <blockquote> If identifiable sections of that work are not derived from the Program, and can be reasonably considered independent and separate works in themselves, then this License, and its terms, do not apply to those sections when you distribute them as separate works. But when you distribute the same sections as part of a whole which is a work based on the Program, the distribution of the whole must be on the terms of this License, whose permissions for other licensees extend to the entire whole, and thus to each and every part regardless of who wrote it. Thus, it is not the intent of this section to claim rights or contest your rights to work written entirely by you; rather, the intent is to exercise the right to control the distribution of derivative or collective works based on the Program. In addition, mere aggregation of another work not based on the Program with the Program (or with a work based on the Program) on a volume of a storage or distribution medium does not bring the other work under the scope of this License. </blockquote> Otto,
Thanks for your comment, but I disagree with your interpretation of the GPL license.

If identifiable sections of that work are not derived from the Program, and can be reasonably considered independent and separate works in themselves, then this License, and its terms, do not apply to those sections when you distribute them as separate works. But when you distribute the same sections as part of a whole which is a work based on the Program, the distribution of the whole must be on the terms of this License, whose permissions for other licensees extend to the entire whole, and thus to each and every part regardless of who wrote it. Thus, it is not the intent of this section to claim rights or contest your rights to work written entirely by you; rather, the intent is to exercise the right to control the distribution of derivative or collective works based on the Program. In addition, mere aggregation of another work not based on the Program with the Program (or with a work based on the Program) on a volume of a storage or distribution medium does not bring the other work under the scope of this License.

]]> By: Otto http://www.jackborn.com/wordpress/wordpress-directory-jumps-the-shark/comment-page-1/#comment-4339 Otto Tue, 26 Feb 2008 17:10:42 +0000 http://www.jackborn.com/word-press/wordpress-directory-jumps-the-shark/#comment-4339 It would be extremely difficult to write a WordPress plugin without actually making it GPL licensed and still be legal. I suspect that 99% of the "commercial" plugins are violating the GPL. WordPress is GPL licensed. Any plugin that uses any of WordPress's internal structures or functions is a derivative and it must also be GPL licensed. Period. The only reason for the "compatible" part is to allow for plugins that are considered to be public domain code and such, as well as to allow for plugins that use other libraries of free code and which integrate to WordPress in a compatible fashion. It would be extremely difficult to write a WordPress plugin without actually making it GPL licensed and still be legal. I suspect that 99% of the “commercial” plugins are violating the GPL.

WordPress is GPL licensed. Any plugin that uses any of WordPress’s internal structures or functions is a derivative and it must also be GPL licensed. Period.

The only reason for the “compatible” part is to allow for plugins that are considered to be public domain code and such, as well as to allow for plugins that use other libraries of free code and which integrate to WordPress in a compatible fashion.

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