SMFChess

[fk59]

me too! 

[ben sisko]

P. S. This mod very well works on SMF 2.0. For example => http://forum.dragomano.ru/index.php?action=chess;id=4

without errors?

[Paracelsus]

ugh nothing tilts me more than seeing great abandoned mods get bumped only to see no updated versions

Here's the thing. Authors write something, they move on. Nowhere does it say they're expected to continue developing it past the point at which it works for them satisfactorily.

People tend to forget that mod authors do so out of their free time, and that it's a hobby for them - and no-one has the right to demand or expect them to pursue their hobby in any way other than how they want. I don't know what hobbies you have, but imagine that you made something as a hobby, then you have others asking you to keep working on it for their benefit, even though you made it and you're happy with it how it is.

Wouldn't it be possible for SMF to review the agreement made at the time the MOD was produced introducing the possibility of being developed by someone else in case of abandonment, send the new text by email to the author and establish a time limit for it to reply and reject the new agreement (that would otherwise replace the old one)?

[Arantor]

Speaking as a former member of the Customization Team, no agreement is actually made of mod authors. Any mods published through this site are assumed (somewhat dangerously, IMHO) to be under the same licence as SMF itself - that they're only available through the mod site and nowhere else, not even here, and that without contact from the original author to validate/verify what can happen, NOTHING can happen.

Mod authors do not have to sign anything, even electronically, regarding their works.

[Godsongz]

I have sent a few emails and PM's Feebles way, but to date no answer at all. I have been doing this for a month now I think or maybe a bit more. I don't think he is coming back.

Feeble hasn't even logged into his own website since December 22, 2008.  It's completely abandoned also and is just a honeypot for spambots.  He's just...  gone.  Though, I guess somebody is still paying for his domain name.  Odd.

[Arantor]

If the registrar is nice, it's probably set to auto-renew.

[tfs]

I've renewed a domain for 10 years before, but have never seen a web hosting company that accepts payment for more than a year at a time.

[Arantor]

Again, it might be set to auto renew. And my old webhost did run a program for a while of 'hosting for life'.

[mu271828]

Does the fact that SMFChess is distributed with LGPL libraries (wz_tooltip, wz_dragdrop) have any relevance here?

I don't know much about that license; sorry if it does not.

[Arantor]

Well, those libraries themselves, can be updated without needing permission (it's a necessary condition of the licence that you can implicitly fork it), but the core code does not indicate its own licence as far as I can see, and it certainly doesn't indicate its licence as being something that can be forked (i.e. someone can branch off and do their own release)

[WhiteEagle]

So if someone coded a new chess mod from scratch they could release it here?

[Arantor]

So if someone coded a new chess mod from scratch they could release it here?

Yes, assuming the only code reused is suitably licensed (LGPL is allowed)

[mu271828]

Well, those libraries themselves, can be updated without needing permission (it's a necessary condition of the licence that you can implicitly fork it), but the core code does not indicate its own licence as far as I can see, and it certainly doesn't indicate its licence as being something that can be forked (i.e. someone can branch off and do their own release)

Thank you, Arantor.

[WhiteEagle]

Good enough. Anyone interested in coding Chess for SMF 2.0 (for lack of a better name)?

[GJSchaller]

A possible, simple solution - just make a bridge to this:

http://www.phpchess.com/

This is an off-the-cuff answer - I don't know how the licensing would work between SMF & phpChess (I can't find any Licensing info on their site, although it was a quick search).

A new project, with a simple bridge, might be worthwhile - let them handle the Chess side, and we just make the login calls.  They claim to have bridging functionality built into the app specifically for this purpose.

[WhiteEagle]

A possible, simple solution - just make a bridge to this:

http://www.phpchess.com/

This is an off-the-cuff answer - I don't know how the licensing would work between SMF & phpChess (I can't find any Licensing info on their site, although it was a quick search).

A new project, with a simple bridge, might be worthwhile - let them handle the Chess side, and we just make the login calls.  They claim to have bridging functionality built into the app specifically for this purpose.

That actually makes sense!

[Yağız...]

This is an off-the-cuff answer - I don't know how the licensing would work between SMF & phpChess (I can't find any Licensing info on their site, although it was a quick search).

"GNU LESSER GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE - Version 3, 29 June 2007"

[Arantor]

LGPLv3 isn't a licensing issue for working with SMF.

[busterone]

I downloaded and installed it to play with it. It is not bad. It allows head to head play, tournaments, and multiple types of gameplay- fast game, clocked moves, etc.
I haven't looked under the hood much yet though, so if nothing else, it could probably be easily connected to SMF via SSI in the least. So far, all I have done with it is peek into the skins to get a glimpse at how it is themed.

I really have no need for it, I have this version working on RC4 and 5 though.

[WhiteEagle]

Cool, now we just need someone to code a bridge and write a how-to.
Update: I'm going to contact phpChess and see if they will create a bridge/mod for the latest version of SMF. Worth a try at least!