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[NinjaNife]

Well, the title pretty much says it all..  I am wondering what the policy is (if there is one) on modifying plugins.  Basically, is it alright for me to modify existing plugin releases (should I contact the original authors each time I wish to make a modification, or just go ahead and do it on my own?), and if so, do I put myself as the author or the author of the original plugin?  My plugin would do the same thing in a different way (different commands, different ways of calling data, etc); just uses the originals as an idea and base code, so if I put the original author they probably wouldn't know how to fix/change it if someone asked them for support..  I just don't want to step on any toes here lol.  Thanks.

Brendan "NinjaNife" West

P.S.
This is purely for information; I do not currently have any plugins/modifications that I would release to the public (few in the works though), just wanting to clear the road for the future.  Thanks again

[MordyT]

as far as I know... all plugins are released under GPL which allows you to mod them any way you want. If you make changes you should take credit for those changes and document them. You may add yourself as a author, as long as you don't remove the original author (since his code is still in use).

Like I said, AFAIK, someone will correct me soon I am sure...

[NinjaNife]

as far as I know... all plugins are released under GPL which allows you to mod them any way you want. If you make changes you should take credit for those changes and document them. You may add yourself as a author, as long as you don't remove the original author (since his code is still in use).

Like I said, AFAIK, someone will correct me soon I am sure...

Would you suggest putting two authors then?  For instance, if you had coded a plugin and I modified it (in a large way), I would put this:

Code:

Author = MordyT & NinjaNife

or should I just put this:

Code:

Author = MordyT
Modifications by NinjaNife

Thanks for the help.

Brendan "NinjaNife" West

[MordyT]

Would you suggest putting two authors then?  For instance, if you had coded a plugin and I modified it (in a large way), I would put this:

Code:

Author = MordyT & NinjaNife

or should I just put this:

Code:

Author = MordyT
Modifications by NinjaNife

Thanks for the help.

Brendan "NinjaNife" West

The way I have seen it done with some of the stock B3 plugins is:

Code:

Author = MordyT, NinjaNife

[Courgette]

B3 is under the GPL license which consider B3 plugins as part of the software (B3) mainly because plugins cannot run out of B3. As such, all B3 plugins are to be released under the same GPL license.
As long as you obey the terms of the license you are free to modify any B3 plugin.
This is the legal part. Now comes the issue of who maintains the plugin code and answer support requests. There is no written rule here, but we expect people to use common sense.
My view is that someone wanting to update an other person's plugin code should try to contact the original author to ask him if he is still motivated by maintaining his plugin code.
If yes, then see if you can work as a team, and if he can merge your changes into the original code and make a new release of his plugin.
If no or if the original author does not respond, then name your plugin differently but keep a clear notice in your source file from who and where you get the original code.
If the original author wishes so, a forum administrator can give you ownership over the plugin topic and download section so you can take over the support and release process.
Anyway those are guidelines only. There have been no urgent reason to rule over this as no issues ever happened.

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