Facebook Autopoke Update

It's been a few months since my last post.  After a few months, I finally got in touch with the folks at Greasemonkey.  It looks like Jesse Andrew is no longer running things, which is great for him.  He's got a lot on his plate and it's good to see him giving away some things.

But it did make making the DMCA takedown's a bit longer.  There is only one script left that violates GPL.  Since it's one script, I will be releasing the newest autopoke script sooner than anticipated.

Please note that the public version of the script will be an obfuscated version.  This does accomplishes two things:

• Makes it much easier to see who is actively copying my script without permission
• Also allows those who have "pirated" scripts to know they may be using an outdated or insecure version.

By no means is this perfect, but it gives people like Tony White, who does nothing but copy scripts and claims them as his own, another hurdle to jump through.

If you are a developer and would like access to the "development" version, feel free to look through the Google Code project.  I use mercurial so it should be easy to figure out which is which.  (Sorry, no further clues will be given.  You're a developer.  It's easy to figure out.)

Speaking of Tony White, I'd like to take a brief moment to share a few thoughts about the GPL and litigation.  First, I don't enjoy using a public forum to address a personal issue.  But he has left me no choice since he has yet to respond to any of my messages.  I have asked Tony White on four separate occasions to bring his scripts into compliance.  I could understand a one-time mistake.  Most people don't understand how the GPL works.  However, after reviewing all of his scripts, the vast majority of them are copies of other people's work.  He then removes the original author's name and substitutes his own.

My goal is to not make money off of any of my scripts.  They are freely available, both in speech and in beer.  That is why I did not sue Userscripts or Tony White.  However, claiming someone else's work as your own is simply despicable.

I cannot fight for other people's copyrights.  But I can fight for my own.

Tony White has blocked private messages, either only from me or from everyone.  Either way, here is the bottom line:

If Tony White is found to have a copy of my Facebook Autopoke script, I intend to file suit in Federal Court for injunctive and damage relief.  I plan to ask the court for $1000 for each violation, which will include each copy that was downloaded.  And since he was a repeat offender, I can triple any damages that are awarded.

That being said, I hope to release the newest version of the Facebook Autopoke within a month.

Getting tired of the edit wars? Autopoke is being considered for closed source

Facebook may be changing their poke code in response to this script.  While unconfirmed, it seems each iteration makes autopoking harder and harder.  To thwart their efforts, I am considering closing the source and obfuscating the code.  What do you think?

If you don't see the survey above, you may need to enable surveymonkey.com within your NoScript. Or you can simply take the survey on their website.

Thanks to Jesse for taking action!

Thanks to Jesse for taking down the offending scripts!

All but one remain so for me the battle has been won.  The author has the right to counter the take-down notice.  He would have to prove that he did not violate the license, which will be difficult since I have screenshots and a diff showing otherwise.

Development on the Facebook Autopoke will continue this week.  I'm hoping to release version 4.1 that will:

• Correct the reload issue
• Constantly monitor Facebook for pokes and automatically re-poke them
• Allow users to take their poke wars with them
• Easier integration with Chrome (Please note "easier".  I'm still not developing for Chrome.  Just making it easier for others if you want to modify my script)
• Fix security problems

To be clear: do not be afraid to modify my code.  The problem I had with Tony White was that he just copied the code and called it his own.  Improvements upon my code are HIGHLY ENCOURAGED and do not require permission.  Attribution is always appreciated.  You should note that I still give props to the original creator of the autopoke script, even though my implementation no longer looks anything like his.  (He doesn't work on his poke script anymore.)

Fighting GPL violators

Being a strong believer in open-source, it gives me no pleasure to find people who violate open source licenses.  Abiding by these licenses are fairly easy and I take a very liberal view of the rights that they protect.

Back in June, I discovered several userscripts that were copies of my Facebook Autopoke script.  While I normally wouldn't have a problem with this, the fact that this user simply copied the script and just pasted his name on it made me pretty angry.  It's one thing to use my script as a bases of a better script.  Even if it's part of a larger work.  But copying the script and just slapping your name on it not only violates the GPL legally, it violates it spiritually.

The GPL was created to foster sharing of thoughts and ideas without fear of stepping on someone's toes.  What this user did was took my hard word and claimed it as his own.

Now, I contacted the Tony White back in May and never received a reply.  So, I contacted Userscripts.org and informed them that I had revoked his license, persuant to section 8 of the GPL. The script is still up today.


So until I have this resolved, all work on the autopoke script will cease.  If you have any questions, feel free to ask them here in the comments.