Requesting permissions from authors!!!

Spectrum Computing is currently hosting ZXDB, however it has chosen to only distribute files after obtaining explicit permission from game authors/publishers.

I already gave my permission for all free sites to distribute my own Spectrum programs, therefore (almost all) my games are already available for download there:

http://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.php?cat=999&author=saukas

However Spectrum Computing doesn't have a permission from Joffa for instance, therefore his games are not available for download (only image files are provided):

http://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.php?cat=999&author=jonathan m. smith

If you have authored any Spectrum program, please consider giving your permission to freely host your games for download! In this case, you can choose to give your permission to Spectrum Computing only, but it would be even better if you are willing to provide a "generic" permission to distribute your files free of charge, for all free sites!

To give your permission, you just need to post your permission in this thread. Afterwards I will register this information inside ZXDB database, and it will be available in the next Spectrum Computing update. When posting your permission, please make it clear if you are giving distribution permission for specific sites only (Spectrum Computing, WoS, etc) or for all free sites. Also if you have released games under different names, nicknames or publishing labels, please clarify which one(s) you meant. For instance here's my own permission:

Distribution allowed for all free sites: all Spectrum programs from author "Einar Saukas" and company "ZX-SOFT Brasil Ltda"

Of course authors (or copyright owners) also have the right to explicitly deny distribution, if they want. In this case I will also register this decision without bothering anybody about it (they have the right to decide whatever they want). And if anybody doesn't feel comfortable to publicly post information here, feel free to send me a PM instead.

Thank you!


PS: I'm assuming everybody in this forum also gave their permission to WoS archive to distribute their programs. If not, this is also a good chance to do it!
Creator of ZXDB, BIFROST/NIRVANA, ZX7/RCS, etc. I don't frequent this forum anymore, please look for me elsewhere.
Thanked by 1demon
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Comments

  • Considering my stuff is released under unlicense, people can feel free to distribute them as they wish. Or modify them. Or print them out and use them as wallpaper. Or sell that wallpaper. Or use it as toilet paper. Or sell that. Preferably not before it's been used.

    Only exception really is the "waiting for the light" which is for non-commercial use only, so don't print out that as toilet paper for sale, please.
    http://iki.fi/sol | http://iki.fi/sol/speccy/ | https://github.com/jarikomppa/speccy
    http://goo.gl/q2j0NZ - make ZX Spectrum choose your own adventure games, no programming needed (release 3)
  • I hereby explicitly give permission for the distribution of my games for the ZX Spectrum to the WoS and Spectrum Computing websites. The authorship must be attributed to Ast A. Moore.

    (By the way, I can only find my old BASIC version of A Yankee in Iraq on Spectrum Computing, but not the 2017 machine code version.)
    Every man should plant a tree, build a house, and write a ZX Spectrum game.

    Author of A Yankee in Iraq, a 50 fps shoot-’em-up—the first game to utilize the floating bus on the +2A/+3,
    and zasm Z80 Assembler syntax highlighter.
    Member of the team that discovered, analyzed, and detailed the floating bus behavior on the ZX Spectrum +2A/+3.

    A few Spectrum game fixes.
    Thanked by 1p13z
  • Thank you!

    ZXDB doesn't contain latest games from last 2 months yet. They will be added soon, when Hikoki finishes updating his list of them.

    BTW we can also store a website link for each author. If authors or publishers would like to provide their website link please post it here too!
    Creator of ZXDB, BIFROST/NIRVANA, ZX7/RCS, etc. I don't frequent this forum anymore, please look for me elsewhere.
  • Einar, you know that I'm quite liberal about copyrights for retro games and I'm not making an exception for myself ;)

    But if you need it all formal and kosher, here you are:

    I hereby explicitly give permission for the distribution of my (Rafał Ryszard Miazga) Zx Spectrum games for the Spectrum Computing website.

    I gave many years ago similar permission to WOS.
    Thanked by 1p13z
  • edited April 2017
    Fantastic, an exciting development.

    I, Dave Hughes, hereby explicitly give permission for the distribution of my Zx Spectrum games for the Spectrum Computing website.

    So that's all the ones from 'Stonechat Productions', I think that covers all the ones bearing my name that I can give permission for.

    EDIT - permission also granted for Woot! and CGD, though they aren't tagged with 'Stonechat Productions'
    Post edited by R-Tape on
    Thanked by 1p13z
  • Sol_HSA wrote: »
    Considering my stuff is released under unlicense, people can feel free to distribute them as they wish. Or modify them. Or print them out and use them as wallpaper. Or sell that wallpaper. Or use it as toilet paper. Or sell that. Preferably not before it's been used.

    Only exception really is the "waiting for the light" which is for non-commercial use only, so don't print out that as toilet paper for sale, please.

    Thanks! I added your generic permission for free distribution in all free sites (which already includes both WoS and Spectrum Computing sites).

    All your Speccy programs are currently registered as "Freeware" which means "available for free but still copyrighted, so nobody can modify your program without asking your approval first, unless explicitly stated otherwise in the program documentation".

    Your comment suggests that you consider most of your programs are "public domain", except for "Waiting for the Light". If that's really what you want, I can update this information but I won't do it unless you explicitly ask me to do it. However "public domain" means other people would be free to even remove your name from a program and put their own names instead. Is it really what you want?
    Creator of ZXDB, BIFROST/NIRVANA, ZX7/RCS, etc. I don't frequent this forum anymore, please look for me elsewhere.
  • Ralf wrote: »
    Einar, you know that I'm quite liberal about copyrights for retro games and I'm not making an exception for myself ;)

    But if you need it all formal and kosher, here you are:

    I hereby explicitly give permission for the distribution of my (Rafał Ryszard Miazga) Zx Spectrum games for the Spectrum Computing website.

    I gave many years ago similar permission to WOS.

    Thanks!

    Yes, I need explicit statements. I cannot add permissions just based on my assumptions about people's opinions!

    Also I didn't know if you preferred to grant a generic permission for all free sites or an specific permission for each new site individually. Now I know :)
    Creator of ZXDB, BIFROST/NIRVANA, ZX7/RCS, etc. I don't frequent this forum anymore, please look for me elsewhere.
  • R-Tape wrote: »
    Fantastic, an exciting development.

    I, Dave Hughes, hereby explicitly give permission for the distribution of my Zx Spectrum games for the Spectrum Computing website.

    So that's all the ones from 'Stonechat Productions', I think that covers all the ones bearing my name that I can give permission for.

    EDIT - permission also granted for Woot! and CGD, though they aren't tagged with 'Stonechat Productions'

    Done, thanks!
    Creator of ZXDB, BIFROST/NIRVANA, ZX7/RCS, etc. I don't frequent this forum anymore, please look for me elsewhere.
  • I haven't checked to see if the new site is for games only. But it may be worth mentioning Timex U.S.A. software, hardware, ROMs, and anything related to both, regarding 8-bit computers, has been public domain since I obtained the permit almost 8 years ago. Yes, we are free to disseminate Timex code, games, business software, etc. The permit isn't exclusive to WOS. If you need the exact words the Senior VP sent me, please send me a reminder to zxspectrum128 a t gmail dot com and I'll forward it to you. :)
    Thanked by 1p13z
  • Catacombs of Balachor and Balachor's Revenge are free for anyone to do anything they like with.

    (No laughing at my rubbish coding code).

    ...Just remembered, the Balachor's Revenge link doesn't work now since Dropbox changed, here's a new one in case anyone needs it.
    Thanked by 1p13z
  • edited April 2017
    Sol_HSA wrote: »
    Considering my stuff is released under unlicense, people can feel free to distribute them as they wish. Or modify them. Or print them out and use them as wallpaper. Or sell that wallpaper. Or use it as toilet paper. Or sell that. Preferably not before it's been used.

    Only exception really is the "waiting for the light" which is for non-commercial use only, so don't print out that as toilet paper for sale, please.

    Thanks! I added your generic permission for free distribution in all free sites (which already includes both WoS and Spectrum Computing sites).

    All your Speccy programs are currently registered as "Freeware" which means "available for free but still copyrighted, so nobody can modify your program without asking your approval first, unless explicitly stated otherwise in the program documentation".

    Your comment suggests that you consider most of your programs are "public domain", except for "Waiting for the Light". If that's really what you want, I can update this information but I won't do it unless you explicitly ask me to do it. However "public domain" means other people would be free to even remove your name from a program and put their own names instead. Is it really what you want?

    Keep them as "Freeware". If someone really cares, they'll dig up the sources (or contacts me).

    And yes, the license is such that anyone could rebrand the stuff I've done under their own label. Anyone capable of doing that, however, is more than likely capable of doing something good too. The risk of getting caught and being branded as a loser is too big for me to care - and the financial gains are not likely either. Or to put it another way: if someone manages to steal my zx spectrum code and make money out of it, they're better at SOMETHING than me. =)
    Post edited by Sol_HSA on
    http://iki.fi/sol | http://iki.fi/sol/speccy/ | https://github.com/jarikomppa/speccy
    http://goo.gl/q2j0NZ - make ZX Spectrum choose your own adventure games, no programming needed (release 3)
    Thanked by 1p13z
  • zxbruno wrote: »
    I haven't checked to see if the new site is for games only. But it may be worth mentioning Timex U.S.A. software, hardware, ROMs, and anything related to both, regarding 8-bit computers, has been public domain since I obtained the permit almost 8 years ago. Yes, we are free to disseminate Timex code, games, business software, etc. The permit isn't exclusive to WOS. If you need the exact words the Senior VP sent me, please send me a reminder to zxspectrum128 a t gmail dot com and I'll forward it to you. :)

    Thank you!

    I already sent you an email asking for the text :)
    Creator of ZXDB, BIFROST/NIRVANA, ZX7/RCS, etc. I don't frequent this forum anymore, please look for me elsewhere.
  • Morkin wrote: »
    Catacombs of Balachor and Balachor's Revenge are free for anyone to do anything they like with.

    (No laughing at my rubbish coding code).

    ...Just remembered, the Balachor's Revenge link doesn't work now since Dropbox changed, here's a new one in case anyone needs it.

    Done, thank you!
    Creator of ZXDB, BIFROST/NIRVANA, ZX7/RCS, etc. I don't frequent this forum anymore, please look for me elsewhere.
  • Sol_HSA wrote: »
    Keep them as "Freeware". If someone really cares, they'll dig up the sources (or contacts me).

    Yes, this is the option I recommend to everybody.

    Sol_HSA wrote: »
    And yes, the license is such that anyone could rebrand the stuff I've done under their own label. Anyone capable of doing that, however, is more than likely capable of doing something good too. The risk of getting caught and being branded as a loser is too big for me to care - and the financial gains are not likely either. Or to put it another way: if someone manages to steal my zx spectrum code and make money out of it, they're better at SOMETHING than me. =)

    Not really. If you put your program in "public domain", you are explicitly giving people the right to do anything, even replace your name. Therefore if anyone replaces your name, it's not stealing!

    People should only put programs into public domain if they don't really care anymore about what's done to it, not even about not getting credited for it. Otherwise there are other ways to let others freely make their own changes, by choosing a proper open source license.
    Creator of ZXDB, BIFROST/NIRVANA, ZX7/RCS, etc. I don't frequent this forum anymore, please look for me elsewhere.
  • Yes, Spectrum Computing and anyone else can host & distribute my Spectrum games, there's only Weird Island, Word Blaster and Strange Kitchen (2 versions, the Boriel one is much better than the Beta version). Also I did a graphics hack for Time-Gate that doesn't include Time-Gate code so it doesn't infringe on Quicksilva's copyright.
    I've made a few CSSCGC games too but I'm not too bothered about those!
    Thanked by 1p13z
  • textvoyage wrote: »
    Yes, Spectrum Computing and anyone else can host & distribute my Spectrum games, there's only Weird Island, Word Blaster and Strange Kitchen (2 versions, the Boriel one is much better than the Beta version). Also I did a graphics hack for Time-Gate that doesn't include Time-Gate code so it doesn't infringe on Quicksilva's copyright.
    I've made a few CSSCGC games too but I'm not too bothered about those!

    Done, thank you!
    Creator of ZXDB, BIFROST/NIRVANA, ZX7/RCS, etc. I don't frequent this forum anymore, please look for me elsewhere.
  • Not really. If you put your program in "public domain", you are explicitly giving people the right to do anything, even replace your name. Therefore if anyone replaces your name, it's not stealing!

    All that person is going to accomplish when the fact eventually comes to light (and it will) is doing themselves a disservice. This isn't 1985.

    People should only put programs into public domain if they don't really care anymore about what's done to it, not even about not getting credited for it. Otherwise there are other ways to let others freely make their own changes, by choosing a proper open source license.

    There's also an option to refuse to take part in any sort of 'License-Games' in general. :)
  • Hikaru wrote: »
    There's also an option to refuse to take part in any sort of 'License-Games' in general. :)

    Software licenses are like election votes. Ignoring them won't make these issues disappear, you would be just allowing others to make all decisions for you!

    Strictly speaking, if authors don't specify any license, by default authors keep all rights to themselves, therefore it becomes illegal for other users to download and run their programs. I know companies that would never touch any software distributed without any kind of license.

    In practice, whenever authors make their programs available for download, it's reasonable (although that's not strictly legal) to assume the author actually meant "freeware". As I mentioned above, "freeware" really means "free to download and use, but for anything else you must contact the author". This is the assumption that Martijn applied in WoS archive and I have been adopting the same in ZXDB. This is the safest assumption for software authors that upload their programs, even if many game authors don't know much about software licenses.
    Creator of ZXDB, BIFROST/NIRVANA, ZX7/RCS, etc. I don't frequent this forum anymore, please look for me elsewhere.
  • You can have my permission (ANdrew Gillen) for the distribution of my stuff for Spectrum Computing (Dave Infuriators and Spiker: Basic Training).
    Thanked by 1p13z
  • spud wrote: »
    You can have my permission (ANdrew Gillen) for the distribution of my stuff for Spectrum Computing (Dave Infuriators and Spiker: Basic Training).

    Done, thank you!
    Creator of ZXDB, BIFROST/NIRVANA, ZX7/RCS, etc. I don't frequent this forum anymore, please look for me elsewhere.
  • Einar,

    all ZeroTeam software can be freely distributed on free sites across the internet.

    So far, it's only Pariboro from games (more to come), we're a bit active in demoscene. Also, our website is at zeroteam.sk if that's of any interest.
    Thanked by 1p13z
  • ellvis wrote: »
    Einar,

    all ZeroTeam software can be freely distributed on free sites across the internet.

    So far, it's only Pariboro from games (more to come), we're a bit active in demoscene. Also, our website is at zeroteam.sk if that's of any interest.

    Done, thank you!
    Creator of ZXDB, BIFROST/NIRVANA, ZX7/RCS, etc. I don't frequent this forum anymore, please look for me elsewhere.
  • Dropped small invitation to russian forum.
    Heavy on the disasm
  • Bedazzle wrote: »
    Dropped small invitation to russian forum.

    Thanks!!!
    Creator of ZXDB, BIFROST/NIRVANA, ZX7/RCS, etc. I don't frequent this forum anymore, please look for me elsewhere.
  • Distribution allowed for all free sites: all Spectrum programs from author "Hacker VBI / Burenko Vladimir"
  • JSW/MM groups, and WOS had the exclusive permissions to my Jet Set Willy remakes, you can have them as well if you want them :))
    Every night is curry night!
  • I, Daniel Gromann, hereby explicitly give permission for the distribution of my ZX Spectrum games on all free sites (including, of course, Spectrum Computing and WoS). I am happy for my "products" to be hosted and distributed as widely as possible.

    Please note that in case of a part of my ZX Spectrum projects (most of which are JSW games) I am their co-author "only". So, if someone insists on seeking permissions to host files, the permissions of the other co-authors should be sought too, I suppose.
  • VBI wrote: »
    Distribution allowed for all free sites: all Spectrum programs from author "Hacker VBI / Burenko Vladimir"

    Added permissions for all free sites, thank you!
    Creator of ZXDB, BIFROST/NIRVANA, ZX7/RCS, etc. I don't frequent this forum anymore, please look for me elsewhere.
  • JSW/MM groups, and WOS had the exclusive permissions to my Jet Set Willy remakes, you can have them as well if you want them :))

    Added permissions for Spectrum Computing from both "BaSe1 PrOdUcTiOnZ" and "the DrUnKeN mAsTeR", thank you!
    Creator of ZXDB, BIFROST/NIRVANA, ZX7/RCS, etc. I don't frequent this forum anymore, please look for me elsewhere.
  • I, Daniel Gromann, hereby explicitly give permission for the distribution of my ZX Spectrum games on all free sites (including, of course, Spectrum Computing and WoS). I am happy for my "products" to be hosted and distributed as widely as possible.

    Please note that in case of a part of my ZX Spectrum projects (most of which are JSW games) I am their co-author "only". So, if someone insists on seeking permissions to host files, the permissions of the other co-authors should be sought too, I suppose.

    Added permissions for all free sites, thank you!
    Creator of ZXDB, BIFROST/NIRVANA, ZX7/RCS, etc. I don't frequent this forum anymore, please look for me elsewhere.
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