[MUD-Dev] Source Code Release

[Greg Munt]

On Tue, 10 Feb 1998, Ben Greear wrote:

> I was once a member here, but changed accounts (ie graduated).  Looks like
> I've found it again, hope it's as interesting as it was then.  

Welcome back, Ben! I'm trying to get Niklas Elmqvist to resubscribe too. 
He's doing some interesting work based on "The Duncton Chronicles" - the 
author of which slips my mind, right now.

[Snip background and advert for ScryMUD]
 
> Feel free to download the source for both the client and server, though
> please read the License once you do.  My release process is probably the
> weakest part, as I just started it, so comments and questions are welcome.

This is something I've wanted to post on, for a number of weeks. My own 
project will be shoving out all of the development docs onto the web: 
specification, design, testing, etc. Shoving out the source code would be 
a natural extension of this. BUT.

I am wary of what will happen to my code - what it will be used to create 
- once I have made it available to the general public.

Advantages:

  The potential of really widespread beta testing

  The potential of discussions about various elements of the 
  specification, design or implementation being produced, which can only 
  help the project. 

  Allowing people who can't or won't code, to be able to run something 
  that they otherwise could not.

  Potential design suggestions from these non-coders.

Disadvantages:

  Code misused. Billions of exact replicas spring up everywhere. "Oh god, 
  another stock X-MUD..." Bearing in my mind my strong aversion to this 
  scenario, this is the main cause of my concern, really.

  Everyone can see how bad my code is. It's not that bad, honest.

  If, by some quirk of fate, it becomes a popular base, my mailbox will 
  be bombarded with questions from clueless newbie admin. The result is 
  what I call "Re: George Reese".

  If it becomes popular, and is misused, its name (and mine) will have a 
  bad reputation.

  It's not a legal requirement to follow the distribution license. Even 
  if it was, could I really afford to sue thousands of people (presuming 
  the code became popular)? And would I want to attract the inevitable 
  negative publicity to myself and the game, through such legal actions? 
  (See: TSR)

I'm thinking of not putting a tgz file anywhere, but instead putting the 
source in HTML files, and annotating it fully. But that still doesn't 
totally deal with the above.

--
Greg Munt, greg at uni-corn.demon.co.uk   "I'm not bitter - just twisted."
http://www.uni-corn.demon.co.uk/ubiquity/