Freedom for Creativity: A Request to Codefling and Developers

[DeutscherRitterPlatz]

Dear Codefling Development Team and Developers,

I am reaching out to you with some concerns and questions as a loyal customer and server operator. I regularly review your licensing agreements and wonder if you truly understand what is outlined within them.

We acquire many plugins from Codefling, considering you the most trustworthy source. However, due to these licenses, buyers have very limited rights. When I purchase a plugin, I would like the ability to customize it for our community server. Why is this not allowed according to your licenses?

Considerable amounts of money are invested in plugins. At times, there are developers who create fantastic plugins but then discontinue their support or release a plugin without offering further assistance.

Hence, my questions are as follows:

Am I allowed, as a server owner and purchaser, to adapt the plugins I acquire from you for my personal needs?

Can I commission a developer to make these adjustments for my server?

Is it permissible for a developer on my team to make changes to the plugin for my server?

I do not intend to resell the plugin but simply wish to personalize it for my server. Many plugins could benefit from further optimization, but I often encounter reluctance when approaching developers.

There are many developers on your platform who genuinely care about their community and aren't solely motivated by financial gain. We understand the potential for profit in Rust plugins, and as such, we rely on you.

Therefore, I urge you to consider allowing us, as server owners, a bit more flexibility and creative freedom.

I would appreciate it if you could provide me with a clear response or establish clear and comprehensive licensing terms. Many developers and customers do not strictly adhere to the licenses through Discord.

Sincerely, MeinRust

P.S. My suggestion for a unified licensing agreement:

Allowed Use
The licensee is granted the non-exclusive right to use the material exclusively for private, "Community Rust-Server" purposes.
This includes displaying, editing, translate, modifying, adapting, and saving the material. Any commercial use, including sale, licensing, or publication for commercial purposes, is expressly prohibited.

Limitations
a. The licensee may not resell, rent, license, or otherwise transfer the material.

b. The licensee may not use the material to create or distribute unlawful, offensive, defamatory, or otherwise inappropriate content.

c. The licensee may not claim to be the author of the material.

Copyright and Ownership
The copyright and all other rights to the material remain with the rights holder. This license does not grant the licensee any intellectual property rights except those expressly stated in this agreement.

Disclaimer
The material is provided "as is," without any warranty or guarantee. The rights holder assumes no responsibility for any damages that may arise from the use of the material.

I would like to express my sincere thanks for your excellent work!
@ThePitereq , @Raul-Sorin Sorban, @KpucTaJl , @Adem, @NooBlet, @Mevent, @imthenewguy, @The_Kiiiing, @Death , @nivex
 

Edited September 18, 2023 by MeinRust

[nivex]

you're free to modify it for your personal needs and use, by yourself or another developer on your team.

my license requires that you ask for consent and since you've provided valid reasons you are given this consent for any plugin of mine

I don't have any desire to change my licence when consent is enough

[imthenewguy]

Hey mate!

I am happy for you or anyone on your team to do whatever you like to my code, so long as it's no redistributed

[Death]

I'd argue that most developers don't mind you modifying for personal use despite their license saying otherwise. That's just to protect them from having to render support to your modified version, as providing support to hundreds of different variants is not practical and will run the author's support costs up.

We cannot force authors to use a particular license model but rather give them advice when we see the terms are unreasonable. In this case, this is common practice, and is up to the author to provide clarity on their stance. The best way to achieve this is by asking them either through a private message or in the discussion tab on their file.

[KpucTaJl]

Hi everyone, I totally agree with @nivex and have exactly the same opinion. You can change the plugin text if you want, but only for your servers. The main thing is that you warned about it. If you need any help from me in changing the plugin text, then I can help you or the developer of your server. Just contact me in Discord for this or create a ticket in Discord Mad Mappers

[The_Kiiiing]

Hi,

Although my license requires consent to do modifications to the plugins, I don't care if you modify the plugin as long as it is for personal use.

I will not provide support for any modified version.