I just realized that Blogging (before it was called like that) has been around for quite a few years. In fact, they were called .plan files (“dot plan”).
A .plan is basically a file which a user on a UNIX system (well, generally UNIX or Linux systems) can put into their “home” directory. This file is there so that the user can describe themselves, write a log, keep a list of things they have to do etc. Using a utility called “finger” it is possible to have a server return the contents of this file by passing it the user’s email address (i.e.: “finger john@idsoftware.com”)
During the development of the PC game Quake, programmer John Carmack of id Software started using his .plan file to keep the users updated of his progress. This idea snowballed until the whole id development team were using them, and many other developers followed.
Many important events have been first announced in .plan files, from staff changes and child births to the first mention of new games (like Quake III Arena or Doom III).
Since this so called “finger” protocol got out of fashion (mostly because it was targeted a lot by hackers) it isn’t used that much anymore and steadily got replaced by .plan files that were published on the WWW and subsequently called “blogging”. But thats just a new word for the same thing in my opinion.
A typical .plan from John Carmack looked like this:
John Carmack
Feb 23 2000, 18:41:51 (GMT)
johnc@idsoftware.com
id Software – Lead Programmer
Name: John Carmack
Email: johnc@idsoftware.com
Description: Programmer
Project: Quake 3 Arena
——————————————————————————-
2/23/00
——-
This is a public statement that is also being sent directly to Slade at
QuakeLives regarding
http://www.quakelives.com/main/ql.cgi?section=dlagreement&file=qwcl-win32/
I see both sides of this. Your goals are positive, and I understand the issues
and the difficulties that your project has to work under because of the GPL.
I have also seen some GPL zealots acting petty and immature towards you very
early on (while it is within everyone’s rights to DEMAND code under the GPL, it
isn’t necessarily the best attitude to take), which probably colors some of your
views on the subject.
We discussed several possible legal solutions to the issues.
This isn’t one of them.
While I doubt your “give up your rights” click through would hold up in court,
I am positive that you are required to give the source to anyone that asks for
it that got a binary from someone else. This doesn’t provide the obscurity
needed for a gaming level of security.
I cut you a lot of slack because I honestly thought you intended to properly
follow through with the requirements of the GPL, and you were just trying to
get something fun out ASAP. It looks like I was wrong.
If you can’t stand to work under the GPL, you should release the code to your
last binary and give up your project. I would prefer that you continue your
work, but abide by the GPL.
If necessary, I will pay whatever lawyer the Free Software Foundation
reccomends to pursue this.