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84 lines
3.8 KiB
Markdown
84 lines
3.8 KiB
Markdown
title: Non-free Licenses
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## What are Non-Free, Free, and Open Source licenses?
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A non-free license is one that does not meet the
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[Free Software Definition](https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.en.html)
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or the [Open Source Definition](https://opensource.org/osd).
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ContentDB will clearly label any packages with non-free licenses,
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and they will be subject to limited promotion.
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## How does ContentDB deal with Non-Free Licenses?
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**ContentDB does not allow certain non-free licenses, and will limit the promotion
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of packages with non-free licenses.**
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Luanti is free and open source software, and is only as big as it is now
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because of this. It's pretty amazing you can take nearly any published mod and modify it
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to how you like - add some features, maybe fix some bugs - and then share those
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modifications without the worry of legal issues. The project, itself, relies on open
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source contributions to survive - if it were non-free, then it would have died
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when celeron55 lost interest.
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If you have played nearly any game with a large modding scene, you will find
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that most mods are legally ambiguous. A lot of them don't even provide the
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source code to allow you to bug fix or extend as you need.
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Limiting the promotion of problematic licenses helps Luanti avoid ending up in
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such a state. Licenses that prohibit redistribution or modification are
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completely banned from ContentDB and the Luanti forums. Other non-free licenses
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will be subject to limited promotion - they won't be shown by default in
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the client.
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Not providing full promotion on ContentDB, or not allowing your package at all,
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doesn't mean you can't make such content - it just means we're not going to help
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you spread it.
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## What's so bad about licenses that forbid commercial use?
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Please read [reasons not to use a Creative Commons -NC license](https://freedomdefined.org/Licenses/NC).
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Here's a quick summary related to Luanti content:
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1. They make your work incompatible with a growing body of free content, even if
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you do want to allow derivative works or combinations.
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This means that it can cause problems when another modder wishes to include your
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work in a modpack or game.
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2. They may rule out other basic and beneficial uses that you want to allow.
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For example, CC -NC will forbid showing your content in a monetised YouTube
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video.
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3. They are unlikely to increase the potential profit from your work, and a
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share-alike license serves the goal to protect your work from unethical
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exploitation equally well.
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## How can I show non-free packages in the client?
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Non-free packages are hidden in the client by default, partly in order to comply
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with the rules of various Linux distributions.
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Users can opt in to showing non-free software, if they wish:
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1. In the main menu, go to Settings > All settings
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2. Search for "ContentDB Flag Blacklist".
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3. Edit that setting to remove `nonfree, `.
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<figure class="figure my-4">
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<img class="figure-img img-fluid rounded" src="/static/contentdb_flag_blacklist.png" alt="Screenshot of the ContentDB Flag Blacklist setting">
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<figcaption class="figure-caption">Screenshot of the ContentDB Flag Blacklist setting</figcaption>
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</figure>
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The [`platform_default` flag](/help/content_flags/) is used to control what content
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each platforms shows. It doesn't hide anything on Desktop, but hides all mature
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content on Android. You may wish to remove all text from that setting completely,
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leaving it blank. See [Content Warnings](/help/content_flags/#content-warnings)
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for information on mature content.
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## How can I hide non-free packages on the website?
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Clicking "Hide non-free packages" in the footer of ContentDB will hide non-free packages from search results.
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It will not hide non-free packages from user profiles.
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## See also
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* [List of non-free packages](/packages/?flag=nonfree)
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* [Copyright Guide](/help/copyright)
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