[David Foster]

They're eventually going to force you to remove or heavily restrict plugin compatibility, you know that, yes?

[nickr]

Who is "They"?

[Ned Scott]

They're eventually going to force you to remove or heavily restrict plugin compatibility, you know that, yes?

Just like how FireFox was forced to remove or heavily restrict what websites are loaded, right?

Since, you know, there's no group with that authority, no law that could require that, and it's technically not feasible to restrict how python add-ons work in an open source application.

[blossom24]

A brief mention...

http://torrentfreak.com/pirates-expose-t...kt-141130/

[David Foster]

... there's no group with that authority, no law that could require that...

There's no law, no. But you know as well as I do that "they" (those with a boner to stamp out piracy) will do everything in their power to make your life miserable (as in the above example). They'll do you like they did every other developer with a desire to deliver free content.. They'll have you in-fighting about what's legal, monitoring your forums for anything that might connect you with piracy, etc, until they've driven away all of your plugin developers and made you a toxic substance. You're a Napster waiting to happen, and you know it! You already have the reputation!

I'm not trying to be an ass, I'm just stating the obvious. I don't have any vested interest your future, beyond yours being a convenient and free media player/provider (emphasis on FREE) until something better comes along. I would be sad to see you go, but it would be no surprise.

[DJ_Izumi]

You're a Napster waiting to happen, and you know it!

Napster directly operated a network that facilitated the piracy of copyrighted content. XBMC is just a media player. There's a VAST, vast difference between Napster and XBMC.

What you're suggesting would be like suggesting any web browser developer because their browsers can be used to access a massive amount of pirated content. Hell, forget piracy, you could use those browers to access child pornography! Or to communicate with terrorists! NAPSTER WAITING TO HAPPEN. ...Wait, nope, just those sites hosting that content and those consuming that content can be shut down (And in these extreme examples, criminally charged)

[David Foster]

Napster directly operated a network that facilitated the piracy of copyrighted content. XBMC is just a media player.

If you say so.

What you're suggesting would be like suggesting any web browser developer because their browsers can be used to access a massive amount of pirated content.

Right. And I'm sure I don't have to tell you that Firefox is the browser of choice among hackers, wankers, and pirates worldwide. If that's the reputation you're after, then more power to you. You may notice, however, that mozilla has a very clear way of distancing themselves from shady plugin developers. If you want that for yourself then you're going to have to be a whole lot more choosy about where your software gets installed, and with what plugins; otherwise you're in for a rough ride. That's all I'm saying.

[h.udo]

Yeah, I love using Chrome because their shitty Firebug-like built-in tool is soooo much better than Firefox + Firebug.

Seriously, I use Firefox every day to work. Therefore, and according to you, I must be a pirate, wanker or worse, a hacker, God forbid!

I can almost hear "Think of the children!"

[Prof Yaffle]

I think this is an unwinnable debate until you have the benefit of hindsight and are looking backwards at what did happen versus what might. The Kodi team has made abundantly clear their position on piracy and, specifically, addons that enable piracy; the more dubious addons are rejected from the official repositories just as 'unapproved' applications don't appear in Google Play or the official Firefox addon directory (and similarly with Chrome, although their rules are as much about protecting Google's income streams as anything).

If that isn't enough, then I'm sure practical suggestions would be welcome. Banning addons (e.g. requiring a signature) is overkill and wouldn't work in an open source environment, so policy and messaging have to be the major lines of defence.

Simply being open to other people's abuse doesn't necessarily make you guilty by association, though. If that's the case, then Kernighan and Ritchie are going straight to hell...

[David Foster]

I'm sure practical suggestions would be welcome. Banning addons (e.g. requiring a signature) is overkill and wouldn't work in an open source environment, so policy and messaging have to be the major lines of defence.

I think that if you compare policies to mozilla, you'll find that they don't allow their browser to be pre-installed without some rather extreme up-front negotiations, and certainly not with a full set of content plugins. As it stands, anyone can install KODI on any device with any repository package and sell it on Ebay, Amazon, or wherever, all with the headline "Watch Free TV and Movies Anytime". That's just asking for trouble. Ebay was nice enough to drop those listings, but they didn't have to. Amazon still has pre-configured XBMC boxes listed, as does NewEgg, Tiger Direct, and I assume quite a few others. You'll play hell having them all taken down without some kind of policy in place, and the will to enforce it.

Simply being open to other people's abuse doesn't necessarily make you guilty by association, though.

It does if you facilitate them.

[Martijn]

Is this the only thing you want to post about on this forum? If so i suspect you won't last very long.

Already split the original thread because this is way off topic

[David Foster]

I don't know how hard it would be to pull off, but... If you could somehow make it so that older plugins no longer worked (probably need the cooperation of plugin devs), which would force people to have to update to KODI... then have the update do a complete plugin and repository wipe with the obligatory disclaimer explaining why (not that people won't bitch anyway)... that should at least take care of the pre-configured boxes that have already been sold. Folks would have to reinstall all of their plugins, but at least you could distance yourself from the situation and possibly regain some of your reputation as "just a media player".

[enen92]

I think that if you compare policies to mozilla, you'll find that they don't allow their browser to be pre-installed without some rather extreme up-front negotiations, and certainly not with a full set of content plugins. As it stands, anyone can install KODI on any device with any repository package and sell it on Ebay, Amazon, or wherever, all with the headline "Watch Free TV and Movies Anytime". That's just asking for trouble. Ebay was nice enough to drop those listings, but they didn't have to. Amazon still has pre-configured XBMC boxes listed, as does NewEgg, Tiger Direct, and I assume quite a few others. You'll play hell having them all taken down without some kind of policy in place, and the will to enforce it.
.

As it looks you're a follower of torrentfreak probably you forgot to read this one: https://torrentfreak.com/xbmckodi-target...rs-141101/

Also if you find anything that violates kodi/xbmc policy you are welcome to report it. You'd then use your time to do something more usefull than post ridiculous claims.

Making the plugins not to be installable/compatible with kodi would break all existing plugins and skins. The only thing they can do is to ensure those plugins can't be installed from kodi repositories, not discussed here nor even advertised in any tool directly linked to kodi / xbmc foundation. Also the python api changes a bit between xbmc versions and no one here (especially not kodi-team) does anything to ensure the plugins you're talking about are updated to work in the most recent versions.

Here's another one from torrentfreak related to googlechrome: https://torrentfreak.com/google-removes-...re-141205/
Google blocked applications related to thepiratebay on their webstore. But...."Those who have already downloaded the apps can continue to use them, for now. New downloads from the Google Play Store are no longer allowed, but a copy of “The Pirate Bay Proxy” is available on the app’s website."
They can still be installed if the user wants too if he/she gets them from wherever they are being hosted. In fact they (googe) can't do anything about this as, if you were a developer, you'd need the freedom to develop, install and test any webapp in the browser without requiring it to be on the webstore.

[David Foster]

Is this the only thing you want to post about on this forum? If so i suspect you won't last very long.

I was just trying to be helpful.

[Ned Scott]

I think that if you compare policies to mozilla, you'll find that they don't allow their browser to be pre-installed without some rather extreme up-front negotiations, and certainly not with a full set of content plugins. As it stands, anyone can install KODI on any device with any repository package and sell it on Ebay, Amazon, or wherever, all with the headline "Watch Free TV and Movies Anytime". That's just asking for trouble. Ebay was nice enough to drop those listings, but they didn't have to. Amazon still has pre-configured XBMC boxes listed, as does NewEgg, Tiger Direct, and I assume quite a few others. You'll play hell having them all taken down without some kind of policy in place, and the will to enforce it.

We do have a policy in place (Trademark policy (wiki)) and we have been enforcing it ( https://torrentfreak.com/xbmckodi-target...rs-141101/ ). People who pre-install our software with that garbage and use our name and logos will be dealt with.

We've been preparing for such a situation since the day we formed the XBMC Foundation (which is an entire layer of legal protection for all the members of Team XBMC/Kodi). We are registering trademarks, enforcing our policy, and we have lawyers. Sites like ebay, newegg, Amazon, and Tiger Direct all have policies in place to take down listings at our request. We are proactive in defending our brand, and that makes all the difference in the world in the eyes of the law.