Compassdesigns.net

Teaching - Web - Sailing

  • Home
  • Services

Fighting the Stupids-Joomla SMF bridge no longer available

July 11, 2007 By barrie@compassdesigns.net Leave a Comment

SMF is one of the most popular forums used in Joomla websites, the official Joomla forums use it. Part of its adoption has been the hard (volunteer) work of an SMF developer Orstio who has developed a bridge between SMF and Joomla.

If you have followed the raging debate around the core team’s decision to re-interpret the GPL license for Joomla, you might have noticed a common theme that their belief seems to be that developer’s who wish to make non-GPL compliant [emphasis added, I believe this opinion to be legally inaccurate] extensions would be educated to become compliant, or just slip into the shadows, or people would duplicate their project, or their extension wasn’t very important anyway.

Well, it looks like the bridge for the most powerful and popular forum for Joomla is going to become unavailable for end users.

I’d note that the source is open for this bridge, its freely available, it just doesn’t have a GPL-compatible license because SMF requires a link in the footer.

It seems that the people who will really end up losing are the end users. Before the new license re-interpretation, they had free access to a powerful forum to use in their Joomla website. Now they don’t.

All because of a link in the footer….

 

 

I’ll leave you with a fascinating quote from some guy called Linus. I think he made some bit of code or other, Linux or something….

I’ve said that over and over again. It’s the "spirit of the GPLv2". It’s what has made it such a great license, that lots of people (and companies) can use, is very fundamentally that it’s fair.

The fact that the FSF sees *another* spirit to it is absolutely not a reason to say that I’m "confused". Quite frankly, apparently I’m _less_ confused than they are, since I saw the GPLv2 for what it was, and they did not – and as a result they felt they needed to extend upon it, because the license didn’t actually match what they thought it would do.

I respect peoples freedoms too. I just disagree with the FSF on what that slippery word means.

I’m damn fed up with the FSF being the "protector of freedoms", and also
feeling that they can define what those freedoms mean.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

The Skinny

I am an entrepreneur, web consultant, author and educator.

I have been involved in starting a K-12 School District, a Private High School, and three web tech companies. I also wrote one of the original and best selling books on Joomla.

And I like sailing with kids.

Recent Posts

  • Teenager Invents New Type of Hunting Camo Suit
  • A Parent’s Guide to Proficiency Based Learning
  • Proficiency/Competency Based Learning in NGSS Classrooms
  • Hunting Camouflage Website Launched
  • Get More Email Newsletter Signups With These Easy Tips
  • Proficiency Based Learning Resources
  • Social Media Redux
  • How to turn off WordPress Comments if you use Disqus
  • The API was Yesterday. The Tomorrow is iPaaS
  • Left Hook Digital Named Zapier’s First Integration Developer Partner

Top Posts

  • 22nd Century Learning
  • What Exactly is Standards-Based Teaching and Learning
  • Joomla Extension Reviews - Tienda and Anahita
  • Displaying the Joomla Search Results Page with the Correct Template and Modules

Blogroll

See3D Camo

Blaze Orange Camo

Vermont CPR

Copyright © 2023 Compass Designs ยท Musings on Education, Life, Joomla and the Web by Barrie North