[sldev] Re: Why Linden Labs needs to let the community extend the client without asking for their IP

[Argent Stonecutter]

On Apr 8, 2007, at 10:04 AM, sldev-request at lists.secondlife.com wrote:
> Err, the plugin architecture would kind of have to be open source. It
> would be in the viewer. His intention is for an open source plugin
> system that closed source plugins could plug in to. The GPL expressly
> forbids this. Unless you negotiate a commercial license with Linden  
> Lab,
> its a license violation. I don't think Linden Lab's intentions  
> could be
> any clearer about this.
>
> I'm still wondering what the hell his wonderful plugin is that the GPL
> is apparently preventing him from developing. Hell, does anyone but  
> Dale
> have any idea what actual use a plugin architecture would have? IMHO
> something like Dale's scanner should be core functionality anyway,
> except for maybe his rating system...

I have no idea, and it would have to be something pretty damn  
phenomenal to make me want to buy it, but I'm kind of confused about  
this... we *are* talking about Second Life, after all, where the  
ability to create and sell stuff (including stuff that most of us  
would be able to implement in a few minutes to hours) is one of the  
things that's driving its success.

The idea that you *shouldn't* be allowed to do that on the client  
side just seems weird to me. Now, I have no dog in this hunt either  
way. I've written or contributed to projects that are GPL, BSDL, and  
closed source, and I'm not interested in writing or buying a closed  
source plugin... but a lot of people are, so why not let them and see  
what happens? If Linden Labs hadn't come to that conclusion in the  
first place we wouldn't be having this discussion, now would we?