From: https://id.koumbit.net/anarcat Date: Fri, 29 Nov 2013 05:59:05 +0000 (-0400) Subject: i believe showdown is free, yet WMD is clearly not, let's switch! X-Git-Url: https://sipb.mit.edu/gitweb.cgi/ikiwiki.git/commitdiff_plain/ea33ebfc69a490768ace90ca94a87cac972f7565 i believe showdown is free, yet WMD is clearly not, let's switch! --- diff --git a/doc/todo/pagedown_plugin/discussion.mdwn b/doc/todo/pagedown_plugin/discussion.mdwn index b2e2f0cb9..6810c5e40 100644 --- a/doc/todo/pagedown_plugin/discussion.mdwn +++ b/doc/todo/pagedown_plugin/discussion.mdwn @@ -57,3 +57,40 @@ Given all the above, what about upgrading this plugin to use pagedown instead of > It does not, however, have a markdown to html converter -- for > previewing it has to talk to the server with AJAX. > --[[Joey]] + + +>> Showdown has a pretty explicit [license.txt file](https://github.com/coreyti/showdown/blob/master/license.txt) +>> and it basically looks like a BSD license. That license.txt file was imported into +>> github directly from the upstream showdown source, so it seems credible. That zip file +>> is still available [on archive.org](http://wayback.archive.org/web/20100612163302/http://attacklab.net/showdown/showdown-v0.9.zip), +>> and does mention a BSD copyright. +>> +>> So Showdown itself is clean: it's free. Nowhere does it say it derives from WMD, or +>> if it does, it doesn't matter *because* it was made by the same author **and then** +>> released under that free license. But even then, it does *not* mention being a +>> derivative of WMD. +>> +>> I agree the license behind WMD is murky. One the one hand, the [google code page](https://code.google.com/p/wmd/) +>> mentions the code will be relicensed under MIT but "for now" we can "use it freely": +>> +>> > *I'm refactoring the code, and will be releasing WMD under the MIT license soon. For +>> now you can download the most recent release (wmd-1.0.1.zip) and use it freely.* +>> +>> That zip file is again offline, but it's also [on archive.org](http://web.archive.org/web/20101226145228/http://wmd-editor.com/downloads/wmd-1.0.1.zip). +>> Things get a little more murky there: the file doesn't actually mention any copyright +>> statement, and the code is actually obfuscated, something that is mentionned on the aforementionned +>> Stack Exchange thread. The [terms and conditions of WMD](http://web.archive.org/web/20100323043113/http://wmd-editor.com/terms) +>> are pretty hostile however: +>> +>>> *All rights reserved. You may not duplicate, copy, or reuse any portion of the HTML/CSS, JavaScript, or visual design elements or concepts without express written permission from AttackLab.* +>> +>> But one could argue they apply only to WMD, and *not* showdown, which has been +>> explicitely published under a different license. And maybe that was the whole +>> point here: the stack exchange people were trying to negociate having the +>> clear and free version of WMD for their own use, maybe showdown is actually +>> what came out of this and what allows Stack exchange to do their thing... +>> +>> And besides: the point here is that we *can't actually use WMD safely*, but +>> we **can use pagedown safely!**. +>> +>> So let's work on merging that pretty branch already shall we? :) --[[anarcat]]