Originally Posted by metalmight
The question is (and I think the original intent of the thread) can the Carbonite authors find a way to charge for their content while keeping the addon free. This may be something that the authors don't have time to consider at the present time. It would be interesting to see if it can be done though. The idea for recurring donations through paypal is a real possibility because the addon is free still but people can choose to donate on a recurring basis. This sounds like a good option to allow for compensation of the authors for their continual hard work.
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Alright, think of it like this:
Michelangelo was given the opportunity to paint a beautiful mural in the Sistine Chapel. He obviously did a wonderful job! But, he wasn't pleased overall for political reasons. Never the less, he couldn't just go inside the Sistine Chapel and remove the murals simply because he was the one that painted them, because those murals belong to the Catholic Church.. not him. He also gained no rights, nor would any modern artist, for monetary gain above and beyond what he had already been paid. When we see pictures of the Sistine Chapel, we see, among other artists, Michelangelo's work. We know it was his talent that produced the beautiful images and he is given credit for them. But "credit" is all he ever received above and beyond his original payment.
Blizzard feels similarly about it's game. Think of World of Warcraft like the Sistine Chapel and Blizzard as The Catholic Church. Michelangelo represents not only addon developers, but game developers as well. Game developers working for Blizzard know full well that anything they produce is owned by Blizzard. They may receive credit for their work, but they'll only receive a paycheck and, if they're lucky, a raise.
Addon developers are 'agreeing' to work for free and, if they're lucky, Blizzard will give them added compensation for their work. They are not, however, entitled to do so. Many addon developers continue to believe that a copyright of their work allows them to "own" the physical code. This is not the case. They own "credit for the artistic format" and that is simply all.
Michelangelo's artistic genius is known around the world and his work on the Sistine Chapel is, no doubt, the paramount cause of his belated success. No one developing mods has the right to 'demand' compensation for something that was previously stated as being voluntary (TOS). I urge addon users to DONATE! But, a donation is not a payment. The developers of this addon and others have every right to place it's success on their resumes, but they have zero right to sell it.
Remember... if the Sistine Chapel fell to the ground (God forbid - cross on chest) due to an earthquake, the paintings would be gone as well, because they are literally 'part of' the chapel. We can have pictures, but compared to addon development, it's like the pictures of Carbonite used on their page on this site.. they're just pictures. They don't do anything. If you take the addon away from World of Warcraft, the addon does nothing. It is, nothing, but a very VERY small piece of a MUCH bigger design the addon developers had little or nothing to do with.
PS: Copyright laws, along with Mickey Mouse, can die in a fire as far as I'm concerned. I've payed for and donated to this addon's development in the past and may continue in the future, but not because I feel they're entitled to the money. It's because I feel they deserve 'extra' compensation as an expression of my appreciation only.
Thanks!