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New Blizzard add-on policy makes selling add-ons against the rules
Waterlily
Member UncommonPosts: 3,105
www.wowinsider.com/2009/03/20/new-add-on-policy-makes-selling-add-ons-against-the-rules/
There is a new UI add-on development policy that has been recently released by Blizzard (we think today, however there is no time-stamp on the document). The policy lists a few standard things we'd expect from add-ons, such as not containing offensive material, not negatively impacting World of Warcraft realms or other players, and requiring add-ons to abide by the WoW Terms of Use and EULA. However there's more.
According to the policy, add-ons must be free of charge, may not solicit donations, and their code must be completely visible.
I have to say I fully support this decision and wish more companies would take a similar approach to add-ons.
Not only will this stop the activity of paying for add-ons to get in-game benefits but it will stop the add-on scene from automating the game too much by both stopping funds going to them and by giving Blizzard more power to stop them. It should also help the freelance and amateur add-on makers who just provide UI interfaces which don't impact gameplay but make the game more fun. I'm also pleased to see that QuestHelper has already said they will stop updating heir add-on, an add-on which I think should have been stopped a long time ago.
I hope more companies implement rigorous rules regarding add-ons.
Comments
As a former Player of WoW I also support this new addition to their rules.
I agree that addons should be sold. I'm all for this.
Torrential: DAOC (Pendragon)
Awned: World of Warcraft (Lothar)
Torren: Warhammer Online (Praag)
I've always been in favour of player generated content/addons remaining free.
Playing: EVE, Final Fantasy 13, Uncharted 2, Need for Speed: Shift
Shouldn't you mean?
Anyway, people shouldn't make money off of addons or mods for any game.
For the following reasons:
-They didn't make the game and they don't own it.
-Blizzard's house, their rules, like it or lump it.
-People who want money for their addons, are doing so in general because they FEEL their addon gives the player a real advantage over others, such as Zygor's ingame leveling guides.
-Most paid addons can be easily downloaded for free, as the addon creator has no way of catching you. Even if they did, their "copyright" (If they even got one and aren't lying) probably won't hold up in any court, as the code and scripts used to make the addon belong to Blizzard.
Edit: As noted by another poster, people can always donate, all Blizzard is saying is people can't ask for payment or donation for their addons anymore.
You don't know much about legal terms, do ya, or Blizzard's long history of perverting words and the law to their own ends. If I were a mod maker, and I had a link on my website that said nothing more than "donations" and I put that on the same page I was offering my mod for download, this would clearly in the realm of solicitation. Almost anything can be defined as solicitation if it mentions the "item" in question in any form whatsoever.
Playing: EVE, Final Fantasy 13, Uncharted 2, Need for Speed: Shift
So they're starting to do something about the add-ons now? Good for them I guess. For me its too little and to late. The add-ons were one of the reasons that I quit; the game is f***ing crawling with them...
Urgh
Sounds good to me. You didn't make the game, so you have no RIGHTS to profit off of it in any way. An add on is just a way of contributing to the game and its players because you enjoy the game and want to make it better. Wanting to profit is not why Blizzard gave you ability to make add-ons in the first place.
If you make a Starwars movie and try to sell it, do you have any rights to that material? Hell no. You can't make a dime legally unless Lucas says so. Its his movie and he owns anything related to it, just like Blizzard and WOW.
This doesn't give Blizzard any more power whatsoever. They could already ban whoever they like, whenever they like at any time.
This doesn't stop anything that couldn't be stopped before either. That mod community never needed funding, it was just a nice little cash in.
I'm dissapointed to see that Quest Helper will stop getting updated. There is no reason why it's not a good thing. If you don't want to use quest helper, then don't use it, but a lot of people don't enjoy walking around just to find the right mob to kill.
I'm gonna head down the street and lecture the body mechanics for all the mods they add to cars and have the audacity to charge people for their work.
You void the warrantee on your car when you MOD it. So, the manufacturer takes no responsibility for the car the second you mess with it. In other words. They give up ownership of the car.
By the way, a car isn't a multiplayer game or a subscription service. The closest thing would be a lease, a car you don't technically own, just like you don't technically own ANYTHING related to a MMO. You void the warrantee if you mod a lease, kind of like Blizzard voiding your ability to to play the game or make a profit on something you don't have any legal rights to.
[Mod Edit]