copyright notice in main footer

[nickfzx]

So I was just reading this thread and it made me go  :

http://forum.coppermine-gallery.net/index.php?topic=43973.0

jensderknipser wants to stick the "Powered by Coppermine Photo Gallery" link in the main footer of the site...I just don't see the logic in disallowing this.

In the main footer the coppermine link would get even more exposure as it would be on all pages on the site - even those without a line of coppermine code.

It would also allow users a greater level of customization, so they could better integrate coppermine with the layout of their site.  Surely this would encourage more people to use coppermine?

It seems strange that you are allowed to style the footer however you like with css (which could involve making it very unobtrusive) but aren't allowed to move it down an inch into the sites main footer, however prominent you make it...it could be huge and in bold and it is still not allowed...I don't get this.

Please don't give me negative karma for posting this -

I stuck this post in No support as GauGau said he isn't ready to discuss this

[nickfzx]

...in addition:

The license of coppermine is GPL with added clause that you provide an advert (link) back to this site and give credit to coppermine.

Surely this means that the link can be on your terms and doesn't have to be in the exact spot that is default in coppermine

I am not a lawyer but I don't think it would be infringing on coppermine's license to put the link to coppermine in the site's general footer.

Please correct me if I am wrong.

[Joachim Müller]

Please correct me if I am wrong.

You are wrong.

I stuck this post in No support as GauGau said he isn't ready to discuss this

I said previously that I'm not ready to discuss this, as it already has been discussed in the past and I'm not ready to repeat this discussion, no matter what sub-board you re-start this discussion. Therefor, you shouldn't have abused your privileges as contributor to start a thread in this board (regular users can't start new threads here) - it doesn't matter where you start such a thread - it's misleading anyway. That's why the thread you're refering to has been locked. We locked it on purpose - we do not want you to start yet another discussion about it.

Please don't give me negative karma for posting this

The karma rating is suppossed to be used as a tool for devs to tag users who misbehave. Starting a meta-discussion about karma is not a bright thing to do. Afaik you have been told so already.

jensderknipser wants to stick the "Powered by Coppermine Photo Gallery" link in the main footer of the site...I just don't see the logic in disallowing this.

[...]

In the main footer the coppermine link would get even more exposure as it would be on all pages on the site - even those without a line of coppermine code.

It would also allow users a greater level of customization, so they could better integrate coppermine with the layout of their site.  Surely this would encourage more people to use coppermine?

It seems strange that you are allowed to style the footer however you like with css (which could involve making it very unobtrusive) but aren't allowed to move it down an inch into the sites main footer, however prominent you make it...it could be huge and in bold and it is still not allowed...I don't get this.

Just some short facts: allowing users to change the tag and telling them how to accomplish this would mean telling them how to get rid of it as well. That's why we don't allow discussions like that. Period.
The license add-on that Coppermine comes with (that says that the footer mustn't be removed) is legal and doesn't render the GNU GPL invalid - we checked that with the FSF in the past. You say that you're not a lawyer - then I suggest not discussing legal issues. I'm not a lawyer neither, nor is anybody of the dev team members a lawyer - that's why we asked for advice from the FSF some years ago.

You'll have to keep in mind the history of the Coppermine project: the application has originally been coded by Gregory Démar and has been taken over by the dev team after Gergory had quit for personal reasons. It was Gregory who had come up with the license add-on when he published cpg1.0. As he is no longer around to advice, it's our job to respect his wish to have the "Powered by Coppermine" tag unobstructed no matter what, even if we (the dev team members) feel that this policy could need changing.

Finally: for cpg1.5.x, the policy has been changed (read the preliminary documentation for cpg1.5.x for details), which means however: as long as you are using cpg1.4.x, the current license add-on is still valid. Subsequently, you mustn't remove the tag or render it invisible, even if you're not meaning any harm and even if your target is to move the footer to a better place on your page.

One of the reasons why we do not want discussions like yours started here is the fact that previous discussions lead to flaming and wannabe-lawyers lecturing about their view on the GNU GPL, displaying only wishful thinking instead of actual legal knowledge.

In my opinion, you get a good piece of software for free. It should be easy for everyone to respect the wish of Gregory Demar and leave the copyright notice exactly as it is and not even discuss this. If you're not happy with this, you're always welcome to start using another piece of software. Compared to the power of the app you get for free, the little footer is only a minor drawback.

Locking this thread, marking as "closed".

Joachim