Bukkit: It's time to say ...

Discussion in 'Community News and Announcements' started by EvilSeph, Aug 21, 2014.

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  1. Offline

    EvilSeph

    [​IMG]


    When we first set out to add our personal touch to what hMod offered the community 3 and a half years ago, none of us foresaw the success the Bukkit project would end up having. From a rocky start that wasn't of our own making (hMod suddenly disappeared without warning while we were just starting up the project, leaving us ill-prepared to fill the void left over), we stepped up to the challenge and managed to put together a usable, respectable alternative to other server mods. We even went so far as to improve on the Minecraft server itself. I can proudly and confidently say that Bukkit was and is a success: not only were we able to provide a platform for hundreds of thousands of Developers to build upon and make use of, we were also frequently providing our Server Admins with peace of mind knowing that the latest exploits and security holes were addressed in a timely and responsible manner.

    From the get go we were plagued with issues and obstacles we needed to overcome, one of which we were sadly unable to tackle despite our best efforts: the legal barrier of licensing and permission. When starting the Bukkit project and even getting involved with hMod before that, we all knew that our work - no matter how well-intentioned - fell into a dangerous legal grey area. As such, my first priority at the start was to do things right: contact Mojang to try and get permission to continue on with the project and discuss our licensing. Unfortunately, while we did get into contact with Mojang and managed to have a chat with Notch and Jeb themselves (who have said that they don't like our methods but understand that there isn't any alternative and are thus fine with what we were and are doing), we never did get an official meeting with their business side to get legally sound permission to continue as we were and were unable to sort out our licensing issues. To this day we find our project in limbo with a half-applied license some could argue is invalid and little power on our end to do anything about the situation.

    With that realisation came a nagging unease at the back of our minds that at any point in time Mojang could decide they didn't like what we were doing and shut us down - something we were all expecting for the first year or so of the project's life but, to our surprise, never occurred. Naturally, Mojang's conscious decision to not take action on our project gave us the confidence to continue on (something which I'm sure Server Admins out there can relate to given the recent, sudden and unexpected EULA enforcement) and we even later got further confirmation from Notch himself that we were and are allowed to keep proceeding as we always had.

    Fast forward to more recent times and Mojang have made the abrupt and sudden decision to start enforcing their EULA in an effort to quell the outlook of Minecraft being pay to win. While I can completely understand where they are coming from and support their mission to shut down pay to win servers, it's difficult to be supportive of their abrupt turn-around with enforcing rules they consciously decided not to enforce since the start of Minecraft. On top of this, there are also clauses - which it would be irresponsible of us not to be aware of - within the now suddenly enforced EULA that directly affect the Bukkit project.

    Most notably: "The one major rule is that you must not distribute anything we've made". While the EULA does go on to try and clarify what is meant by "anything we've made", I feel that it only serves to confuse the situation even more so. At the end of the day, it seems that Mojang can determine what is a "mod, plugin or hack" of their game on the fly and their recent abrupt turn-around on enforcing the EULA has us understandably worried. Couple this with the fact that it isn't legally viable or acceptable to enforce the EULA piecemeal and our future is clear.

    At this point in time, I think it's safe to say that it's no longer worth it for us to put up a fight when it comes to keeping Bukkit and modding alive. With large and significant changes coming in Minecraft 1.8 that we'll be hard pressed to provide support for and the lack of support from Mojang with updates since acquiring our original core team (Mojang used to provide us with mappings to speed up the update process), there is little motivation for us to continue limping on across various aspects of the project. From a project management standpoint, it's become increasingly difficult to find willing and able individuals to help out the project on a purely voluntary basis due to people losing interest in Minecraft or people looking for something more. Simply put, this was ultimately the final nail in the coffin.

    Nonetheless, no one can deny that we've had a fantastic run as a project. This is due in no small part to the support we received and continue to receive from both the Minecraft community and the many companies and organisations that have graciously chosen to support us with a ridiculous amount of resources, infrastructure and backing - far more than we could have ever asked for. No amount of words can adequately express the gratitude we have for all our sponsors who have supported us through our journey and ensured Bukkit had the infrastructure required to be the vast success it is today. To list all of what these sponsors have done for us would be a post equal in length to this one, so we will unfortunately need to keep it brief. We want to give huge shout-outs and thanks to: eXophase.com for getting us off our feet and hosting us at the start; Multiplay and Curse for swooping in and providing us with (emergency) hosting we continue to use to this day including dl.bukkit.org and our BukkitDev service; as well as AllGamer for providing us test servers whenever we needed a server to certify update and promoted builds or attempt to reproduce a bug report.

    Last, but definitely not least, we'd like to thank the many staff, both past and present, that have volunteered countless hours over the years. I am at a loss for words to express just how much these people have meant to the project and to myself. The core team who have constantly worked hard to update to every new Minecraft version, while adding in new API and improving the server itself. The BukkitDev staff who spend countless hours checking over the fantastic plugins our community creates. Our moderation staff keeping our forums orderly and safe for all people seeking out a great community to be a part of. Additionally, the many unsung people who have helped in various ways despite having no official title, simply because there was work to do. Finally, my administrators, who have tirelessly helped me keep the project functioning as a whole. I would especially like to thank TnT and mbaxter for sticking through it with me to the end, always ready to discuss an issue and provide me with advice.

    It's been a fantastic 3 and a half years of providing what we believe to be the absolute best modding platform for the wonderful Minecraft community to use. We really enjoyed seeing the amazing feats our many Developers and Server Admins achieved with the product we provided and continue to be amazed every day at the ingenuity our community shows. Thanks for everyone's continued support! It has and will continue to mean the world to us. Together we were able to provide a Minecraft server used by hundreds of thousands of servers out there (with our last Recommended Build having over 2.6 million downloads!), which is certainly something to be proud of and a great note to end on.

    This is the end, it's time to say goodbye. It's been an amazing run and we achieved much more than anyone thought was possible, even ultimately culminating in Mojang hiring our original core team. Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and the Bukkit project has run its course, leaving me to make one final - incredibly difficult - decision to shut down the project I’ve poured 3 and a half years of my life into which means so much to me. We're no longer able to confidently distribute our modified versions of the Minecraft server and it is no longer smart for us to continue with our update process. Sadly, this means we will NOT be updating Bukkit nor CraftBukkit for Minecraft 1.8 and, since Minecraft 1.7.10 introduced the EULA enforcement, we will be placing the project under a code freeze for the foreseeable future. Furthermore, due to obvious legal reasons we will not be helping anyone else complete any updates nor sharing our methods despite any desire to the contrary. Although the project itself will essentially be no more, we'll continue to support our community, the forums, IRC and BukkitDev as long as we are able and as long as our partners support us with the resources and infrastructure to do so.

    As for us? Well, who knows? Maybe we'll find another game, program or project to be passionate about and we'll be back with a vengeance? Only time will tell, but I hope that we'll see you around the next passion-project of ours when it happens :)


    [lukegb]There's more to come on this. Please read this for more information about where we stand.[/lukegb]
     
  2. Offline

    robotnikthingy

    The download site is gone?!

    Okay, now I'm fucking worried
     
  3. Offline

    uvbeenzaned

    Ok well you can get Bukkit but no CraftBukkit.
     
  4. The Bukkit page is working fine, but the CraftBukkit page returns a 451 error. Same goes for any download links within.

    The CB Git repository appears to be fine, though. I'll give that a peek.
     
  5. Offline

    uvbeenzaned

    Someguyfromcrowd I just went and grabbed the zip for both repos :p Don't want any of that to go to waste.
     
  6. Offline

    DennisSkov

  7. From: Wesley Wolfe <email redacted>
    Date: 3 September 2014 03:48
    Subject: [SL] [abuse-google] Copyright

    My name is Wesley Wolfe. A site hosted on an IP address owned by Multiplay
    (ip redacted) is infringing on my software copyright by the distribution
    of a software known as CraftBukkit.

    Original content can be found at

    https://github.com/Wolvereness/Bukkit-Bleeding/commits?author=Wolvereness

    https://github.com/Wolvereness/Bukkit-Bleeding/commit/0a0fee8be25bf8a732abff2d66a89a64614b6327

    and the appropriate license for previously mentioned content can be found at


    https://github.com/Wolvereness/Bukk...e59275330f83b994e199c76f6abd41ee7/LICENCE.txt

    The provided license requires the use of included or linking code to
    provide the original source under the GNU GPL license version 3, or any
    later version. An official notice has been sent to Mojang AB, whereas the
    Chief Operating Officer, Vu Bui, responded with the clear text:

    Mojang has not authorized the inclusion of any of its proprietary
    Minecraft software (including its Minecraft Server software) within the
    Bukkit project to be included in or made subject to any GPL or LGPL
    license, or indeed any other open source license

    As the Minecraft Server software is included in CraftBukkit, and the
    original code has not been provided or its use authorized, this is a
    violation of my copyright. I have a good faith belief the distribution of
    CraftBukkit includes content of which the distribution is not authorized by
    the copyright owner, it's agent, or the law.

    Pages including infringing content:
    http://dl.bukkit.org/ - links to:
    http://dl.bukkit.org/latest-rb/craftbukkit.jar
    http://dl.bukkit.org/latest-beta/craftbukkit-beta.jar
    http://dl.bukkit.org/downloads/craftbukkit/ - links to 45 pages, with
    infringing content beginning on craftbukkit build #1597 and currently
    ending at craftbukkit build #3115, but please allow me not to enumerate
    them all
    http://dl.bukkit.org/downloads/craftbukkit/view/00703_1.1-R1/ (the
    first infringing build)

    I have a good faith belief that the above information is accurate and that
    I am the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner's
    behalf.

    Pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. § 512(c)), the
    above mentioned pages need to be expeditiously removed or access-of
    disabled.


    Electronically Signed:


    Wesley Wolfe
    address redacted

    email redacted
     
  8. Offline

    SatanDaughter66

    so wait...the whole site is shutting down? or its being run by mojang? no more craftbukkit but regular bukkit is living? im getting mixed signals from the community and i dont understand whats going on.
     
    uvbeenzaned likes this.
  9. Offline

    uvbeenzaned

    SatanDaughter66 exactly. I think it's gonna be updated by Mojang and then again I see all these messages about copyright issues and EULA violations. GAH
     
  10. Offline

    SatanDaughter66

    but this isnt fair to us...mojang doesnt realize craftbukkit is at least 80% of the community. theyre losing people
     
  11. Offline

    DennisSkov

    Read the thread that I posted a link to in #559. I DMCA was filed.
    SatanDaughter66, Mojang didn't file the request. A old member of the Bukkit Team did.
     
  12. Offline

    SatanDaughter66


    i read the file already.
     
  13. Offline

    DennisSkov

    Then why are you claiming that Mojang is ruining Bukkit? Mojang did nothing but take over the Bukkit project (which they have owned for years) when EvilSeph tried to shut it down.
     
  14. Offline

    uvbeenzaned

    WHY on earth is all this happening at the same time then?! Is he turning Bukkit into a copyright bomb to explode before Mojang gets to do anything with it just because he is mad? This "Wolverness" or whatever his name is may be trying for revenge against Mojang or something. I am so upset right now I don't know what to do. I hope Mojang grabs it before the US Law takes over and gets rid of it completely because DMCA is US Law.
     
  15. It seems like Wolvereness made some code in Bukkit and due to Mojang taking over got angry and took down the download site. He does have rights to do it but come on little childish Wolvereness.
     
  16. Offline

    SatanDaughter66

    re-read first post again. i dunno whats going on. people are saying its mojangs fault and people are saying its not. im simply saying they might change major things in bukkit cuz of the EULA stuff.


    but what im confused about is theres no more craftbukkit? is regular bukkit gonna live or is the whole site shutting down? if regular bukkit is gonna live and its just craftbukkit thats taken down then hell ill use that. as long as i can use my plugins still.

    EDIT by Moderator: merged posts, please use the edit button instead of double posting.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 9, 2016

  17. CraftBukkit is the server software. Bukkit is the API (application interface) used by developers to write plugins.

    Without CraftBukkit, you can't run a server.
     
    uvbeenzaned likes this.
  18. Offline

    uvbeenzaned

    @WolverenessPlease stop tearing this community apart.
     
  19. Offline

    SatanDaughter66

    god damn...so now all of us are screwed?
     
  20. Offline

    uvbeenzaned

  21. Offline

    DennisSkov

    Guys, stick to facts, which there aren't many of. Don't post theories about why Wolverness has done as he did.
     
  22. Offline

    Jameshobbs

    I guess our only hope is for the official API lol. Any idea if it will have similar structure to bukkit... I mean write things in Java etc etc.
     
  23. SatanDaughter66 Bukkit is getting updated to 1.8 by Dinnerbone, the bukkit team are still here to help on forums. Whether Bukkit will be updated more well we will see. Also no the site is not shutting down just wolvereness shut it down because of legal reasons.
     
  24. Offline

    uvbeenzaned

    Why would he file against dl.bukkit.org directly if Mojang has things in their hand then? This seems to only point toward rage and revenge to me.

    There are two conflicting ideas floating around that are very confusing.

    EDIT by Moderator: merged posts, please use the edit button instead of double posting.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 9, 2016
  25. Offline

    Jameshobbs

    I think its a little more complicated than rage and revenge.

    He has his intellectual property at stake here, which he developed into parts of craftbukkit. He sees one of the main devs stepping down and now he may think his property is under attack of being taken over by someone else. Although childish, it would be appropriate for Mojang to pay some of these devs for the hard work they have put in rather than just snatching the code up and updating it.
     
  26. Offline

    SatanDaughter66


    will it be uploaded here or somewhere else? did he say?
    lemme try to get this straight here before my server goes to shit and i end up getting rid of it. Craftbukkit and bukkit is being updated by dinnerbone and will be continuing to update it?
     
  27. Offline

    uvbeenzaned

    People that work under a non-profit entity can't be paid by someone that wants the project if its open source. That doesn't even work. The very definition of open source is that its open.
     
  28. Offline

    Jameshobbs

    However with what was said in my post #579, it is very childish of him to not contact Mojang and discuss this rather than just upright writing a DMCA...
     
    uvbeenzaned likes this.

  29. Well, not quite. There's no reason you can't be paid for work on an open source project. Open source simply means that the codebase is publicly available. Depending on the license, it can be used by others.
     
  30. Offline

    uvbeenzaned

    Exactly! It only points toward rage. It doesn't seem to be pointing to anything else.
     
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