Copyright Information: Difference between revisions From Online Manual

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{{Version specific|version=1.1
{{Version specific|version=1.1|small=yes|
|content=The [http://www.simplemachines.org/about/license.php License Agreement] prohibits altering the copyright notice displayed at the bottom of your forum. All copyright notices within source files and as generated by the Software as output are retained, unchanged.
|content=The [http://www.simplemachines.org/about/license.php SMF License Agreement] prohibits altering the copyright notice displayed at the bottom of your forum. All copyright notices within the source files, and as generated by the Software as output, are retained and are unchanged.


Altering the copyright notice will terminate your license to use SMF, and may result in a warning message at the bottom of your forum.
Altering the copyright notice will terminate your license to use SMF, and may result in a warning message at the bottom of your forum.


The SMF version number is considered separate the copyright itself, and altering it is not considered a violation of the license. Altering the SMF version number may make it more difficult for the SMF team to offer appropriate help tailored to your version of SMF.
The SMF version number is considered separate from the copyright itself, and altering it is not considered a violation of the license. However, altering the SMF version number may make it more difficult for the SMF team to offer appropriate help tailored to your version of SMF.


In rare cases you may notice a message on the bottom of your forum that states that your forum is missing the SMF copyright. The SMF software has been designed to detect whether an approved version of the copyright notice has been used on your forum. Chances are it is a minor issue and is easy to resolve.
If a warning message is visible, it is likely that something has been done that has altered the copyright function. If the administrator is seeing these messages, they should check the [[Modification | mods]] which they recently installed and uninstall them as soon as possible.
 
Outdated language files can also cause this message to show.  If that is the cause, the admin should visit the [http://download.simplemachines.org/ Downloads Page] and download updated language packs.
 
The SMF copyright ''must'' remain. If it is removed, Simple Machines reserves the right to seek legal action.  '''You cannot alter, remove, or hide the copyright statement at the bottom of any SMF forum in any way''', with the exception of having written permission from Simple Machines.
 
Also, you are not allowed to alter or remove any credit information from the SMF source code. You cannot copy any part of the SMF source code, or claim any SMF code is yours.


There are a few reasons why the missing copyright message might be showing:
There are a few reasons why the missing copyright message might be showing:


'''Editing the copyright message''' - You removed required information from the copyright string "$forum_copyright", you edited [http://support.simplemachines.org/function_db/index.php?action=view_function;id=235 function theme_copyright], or you removed the call to "theme_copyright()" from your theme. Any of these actions is most likely a violation of the [http://www.simplemachines.org/about/license.php SMF license agreement]. The generally approved method of adding additional copyright information (pertaining to a site, theme, or mod) is to add this after the call to "theme_copyright" in index.template.php.
'''Editing the copyright message''' - You removed required information from the copyright string. This is most likely a violation of the SMF license agreement.
 
'''Theme incompatibility''' - Installing a [[theme]] intended for 1.1 on 1.0, or 2.0 and vice-versa, will most likely cause the message to appear. Consult the author of the theme to make it compatible with your theme or use a different theme that is compatible with your version.
 
'''In process of upgrading''' - If you are [[upgrading]] from some version of 1.0 to some version of 1.1, you might encounter this message as the files upload. Once all the files have been uploaded, and ''upgrade.php'' has been run, this notice should disappear.
}}


'''Theme incompatibility''' - Installing a theme intended for 1.1 on 2.0 and vice-versa, will most likely cause the message to appear. Consult the author of the theme to make it compatible with your theme or use a different theme that is compatible with your version. The Default, Babylon and Classic (YaBB SE) themes will work on all versions of SMF as long as their template files were updated properly during each upgrade.


Outdated language files can also cause this message to showIf that is the cause, the admin should visit the [http://download.simplemachines.org/ Downloads Page] and download updated language packs.}}
{{Version specific|version=2.0+|small=yes|
|content=The SMF copyright notice can be removed from the forum, but if you choose to do so, you will not be eligible to receive support from the Simple Machines TeamThe SMF license agreement states that you must retain the required license agreement and copyright notice(s) in the file headers.  Please read [http://www.simplemachines.org/about/smf/license.php The License] for further information.}}


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Related Reading:
[http://www.simplemachines.org/about/smf/license.php SMF License Agreement]
[[Category:FAQ]]
[[Category:FAQ]]

Latest revision as of 20:51, 4 December 2016

The SMF License Agreement prohibits altering the copyright notice displayed at the bottom of your forum. All copyright notices within the source files, and as generated by the Software as output, are retained and are unchanged.

Altering the copyright notice will terminate your license to use SMF, and may result in a warning message at the bottom of your forum.

The SMF version number is considered separate from the copyright itself, and altering it is not considered a violation of the license. However, altering the SMF version number may make it more difficult for the SMF team to offer appropriate help tailored to your version of SMF.

If a warning message is visible, it is likely that something has been done that has altered the copyright function. If the administrator is seeing these messages, they should check the mods which they recently installed and uninstall them as soon as possible.

Outdated language files can also cause this message to show. If that is the cause, the admin should visit the Downloads Page and download updated language packs.

The SMF copyright must remain. If it is removed, Simple Machines reserves the right to seek legal action. You cannot alter, remove, or hide the copyright statement at the bottom of any SMF forum in any way, with the exception of having written permission from Simple Machines.

Also, you are not allowed to alter or remove any credit information from the SMF source code. You cannot copy any part of the SMF source code, or claim any SMF code is yours.

There are a few reasons why the missing copyright message might be showing:

Editing the copyright message - You removed required information from the copyright string. This is most likely a violation of the SMF license agreement.

Theme incompatibility - Installing a theme intended for 1.1 on 1.0, or 2.0 and vice-versa, will most likely cause the message to appear. Consult the author of the theme to make it compatible with your theme or use a different theme that is compatible with your version.

In process of upgrading - If you are upgrading from some version of 1.0 to some version of 1.1, you might encounter this message as the files upload. Once all the files have been uploaded, and upgrade.php has been run, this notice should disappear.


The SMF copyright notice can be removed from the forum, but if you choose to do so, you will not be eligible to receive support from the Simple Machines Team. The SMF license agreement states that you must retain the required license agreement and copyright notice(s) in the file headers. Please read The License for further information.



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