Thoughts about legal troubles & Should I post code here..

The title to this may seem out of place, but let me 'splain, Ricky.

I've mentioned once or twice that I was working on a mud, and work is coming along quite well. It's primary client right now is the AIM instant messaging service. That's right, the mud uses AIM.. But it could just as easily use Jabber, M$N, whatever.. I just like the Net::AIM modules..

I'd like, in the future, to zip up the code, place it on a host, and link it here under meditations.. (It's currently split into a lot of modules..etc)

Does anybody think I'll have to worry about anything happening from AOL's side of the fence? I'm not making any money, only stress (;)) and just thought I'd place that question out there.

I'd also like to ask how people feel about the mud using SOAP/XML envelopes as it's transport method. I've got everything broken out so all I'd have to do is create an interface, and properly join to the mud's object, going from there..Does anybody think this is a fruitless effort?
Thanks in advance..

One4k4 - perlmonks@poorheart.com (www.poorheart.com)

Comment on Thoughts about legal troubles & Should I post code here..

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Re: Thoughts about legal troubles & Should I post code here.. by theorbtwo (Prior) on Jun 05, 2003 at 21:45 UTC
I /think/ you should be free of legal troubles, so long as you stick to Net::AIM, Jabber, or other free protocols. Net::AIM uses the TOC protocol to interface with AOL's server. TOC is documented by AOL in an open-source peice of software. OSCAR, OTOH, which is a more complete and stable protocol, has never been documented by them, and is a closed protocol -- they feel free to break it for opensource clients, sometimes seemingly maliciously. Similarly, the MSN, Yahoo, ICQ (now obsolete), and most other closed-source chat protocols tolerate, but don't get along with, their open-source clients. On the other hand, you're probably pretty judgement-proof. AOL won't sue you unless you really p!ss them off for some reason. Also, publishing code that uses other's modules to communicate with their servers isn't illegal, as far as I can tell, though actualy using such code might be. I'm interested in playing with this -- what's the screenname, or homepage, of this MUD? Warning: Unless otherwise stated, code is untested. Do not use without understanding. Code is posted in the hopes it is useful, but without warranty. All copyrights are relinquished into the public domain unless otherwise stated. I am not an angel. I am capable of error, and err on a fairly regular basis. If I made a mistake, please let me know (such as by replying to this node).	[reply]
Re: Re: Thoughts about legal troubles & Should I post code here.. by one4k4 (Hermit) on Jun 05, 2003 at 22:35 UTC
Thanks for the feedback! Currently the homepage is at it's sourceforge page and I do have a screenname for it, but I have yet to create the "I don't know you, hey, sign up!" interface. However if somebody feels they'd like to tinker and offer feedback, feel free to email me or IM me at the expected screenname. ;') One4k4 - perlmonks@poorheart.com (www.poorheart.com)	[reply]


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