Market Rules (DRAFT)

Author: Nathan Paton (SuperModerator?)

Date: 2012/3/7

Overview

Please read the following for an understanding of what not to do when using the market. Failure to follow these rules can result in punishment, and even the suspension of one's account. You may be quizzed on this content at the end of the semester.

Submiting

You should fill in all applicable information when submitting a new product. It's required that a support topic be created in the forum, and must be linked to from the appropriate field, unless the product is for a service. Products which have a download (i.e., not a service) available should include the actual product in that download. For example, including a text file and including additional steps is highly discouraged, unless required for some reason, in which case a note must be included in the product's description.

Furthermore, the correct price must be selected. Here's an explanation of each:

• Free: Product is free, there is no cost associated with it.
• Trial: Product is functional, either in full or in part, for a limited time.
• Demo: Product is functional in part without a time limit.
• Shareware: Deprecated. Please select either Trial or Demo.
• Bundle: Product is a collection of products which can all be downloaded for a single price. If the bundle has a cost, use Price.
• Subscription: Product requires a recurring subscription to work.
• Price: Product has a one-time cost.
• Other: Other.

Shareware is about the same as Trial and Demo, so use those instead. However, use it if it feels more appropriate; it's only deprecated. Bundle is meant for more a promotional product. Don't use it if the products aren't free. Instead, use Price. Subscription is meant for products such as web hosting or media server hosting, or another service which requires a recurring fee. If none of the other prices work, select Other and include an explanation in the product's description.

You are required to complete the required information under the courtesy checklist. Currently, the following are required:

• Version: The product's version number. This is not Dolphin's version number.
• Compatibility: All versions of Dolphin (or another BoonEx product) that are compatible with the product.
• License: The product's license.

You must enter the above. Have fun with the version information, but the compatibility information must be specific. Do not enter "Dolphin 7.x" or variants of nonexistent versions. The following are acceptable:

• Dolphin 7.0.0, Dolphin 7.0.1 (etc.)
• Dolphin 7.0.0-7.0.9

If the product is not compatible with a specific version (or versions) of Dolphin (or another BoonEx product), this must be included under the compatibility information, like so:

• Dolphin 7.0.0-7.0.9, except 7.0.5

This is only applicable if all compatible versions were not listed (like with the first example). Entering nothing for compatibility information will default to the product supporting every version of every BoonEx product ever made, even those that do not even exist. Disputes concerning this information will be a non-contest in favor of the person openeing the dispute. Furthermore, reports against a product for lacking required information may result in the removal of the product or even the suspension of the developer's account.

You must also enter a license. This is a personal choice, but at least enter something. Failure to enter a license will have the product default to being released under the GNU General Public License, in which case, the product may even be released for free.

Products can be removed from sale for missing this information. Developers can even be suspended if a product is reported for missing this information, so including it is a must.

Integrations

You are allowed to offer integrations for third-party scripts, as long as the following requirements are met.

An integration must make use of Dolphin features. For example, if a third-party script has support for accounts, that support should be removed and Dolphin's account system used instead. Do not use a cheap <iframe> embed of a script or linking to it from Dolphin's menu. Requiring the script be installed separately already means we're not dealing with an integration. The script should be released as a module with the installation taken care of like a normal module. This will require a lot of extra work in some cases, but that's part of the deal with releasing an integration.

Also keep in mind the license of the script. If releasing the script as part of an integration is against the license, don't do it. If releasing the script as part of an integration and charging for it is against the license, also don't do it. Products which make use of third-party scripts will be checked to make sure there is nothing wrong on the legal side of things.

Legalities

Products must not violate the code's license, nor must it be considered illegal in the United States (which is where all these wires that serve the market are housed).

Further Reading

You should also review the following articles:

​http://www.boonex.com/trac/dolphin/wiki/MarketCourtesy

​http://www.boonex.com/trac/dolphin/wiki/MarketRequirements

​http://www.boonex.com/trac/dolphin/wiki/MarketEtiquette

Yes, there are about four or five articles here about rules involving the market. It's confusing, but take comfort in knowing that this article should be viewed as the most correct and current. If something from one of the linked articles above contradicts this one, it's safe to assume that it is a phoney.

Revisions

This article will be updated as needed, so it's recommended to check back once a month or so. In case something's wrong and needs to be changed/removed, send a message to a moderator.

TODO

Note: This section will be removed once this article is completed.

• Finish integration section
• Write the legal section
• Rewrite some of the submitting rules to be less contradicting
• Rewrite all the thing to remove the mixture of first and third-person