Open Source application GPL legality
shd
shd at rootnode.net
Wed Oct 14 00:02:26 UTC 2009
Hello,
I'm Open Source initiative fan who's willing to manufacture MMORPG
computer game and share it's precious content with the humanity :).
Because of scarcity about repeated closing my application by
money-for-nothing+crap guys, one of GPL tree would be the best choose.
Blocking possibility thing is really important thing for me, without it
- I wouldn't share sources to mass-market. Keeping in mind quality of
gaming experience I encountered problem with player protection. More
specifically, absolutely opening application (in this case client) means
allowing to build automated cheating utilities (such as computer bots
and other 'hacks') which would completely ruin fun for others. After
considering many ideas of restricting 'hack-programs' use... After
exclusion of poor video stream transmission (: I acknowledged it as
impossible.
To save possibility of making this kind of application open-sourced I
digested method which is making use of raw client data hashed with
server delivered seed as authentication token which can be used to
verify (surely open sourced) client integrity. Thanks to this idea we
can make client and server in Free Software way simultaneously not
breaking functionality (delivering fun in RPG way) and letting to
everyone open-up his own game realm. As someone of you probably spotted,
key of the whole concept is having concrete entity of client (binary
data) unknown for 'bad guys' whose aim is to destroy game balance = fun
= use of application.
The question is - can I share my application released on GPL license at
the same time dynamically obfuscating and morphing an executable file
with *not shared* utility? Result would be - client + server are both
open source, but if someone wants to stay connected with *my* server he
has to use concrete (my) compilation from.
Cheers,
Mariusz Gliwiński
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