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).

In reply to Re: Thoughts about legal troubles & Should I post code here.. by theorbtwo
in thread Thoughts about legal troubles & Should I post code here.. by one4k4

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