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The Reloaded Project License

Most components of the Reloaded are governed by the GPLv3 license.

In some, albeit rare scenarios, certain libraries might be licensed under LGPLv3 instead.

This is a FAQ meant to clarify the licensing choice and its implications. Please note, though, that the full license text is the final legal authority.

Why was GPL v3 chosen?

The primary objective is to prevent closed-source, commercial exploitation of the project.

We want to ensure that the project isn't used within a proprietary environment for profit-making purposes such as:

  • Being sold behind a Patreon paywall.
  • Being integrated into a closed-source commercial product for sale.

The Reloaded Project is a labour of love from unpaid hobbyist volunteers.

Exploiting that work for profit feels fundamentally unfair.

While the GPLv3 license doesn't prohibit commercial use outright, it does prevent commercial exploitation by requiring that contributions are given back to the open-source community.

In that fashion, everyone can benefit from the projects under the Reloaded label.

Can I use Reloaded Libraries Commercially?

You can as long as the resulting produce is also licensed under GPLv3, and thus open source.

Can I use Reloaded Libraries in a closed-source application?

The license terms do not permit this.

However, if your software is completely non-commercial, meaning it's neither sold for profit, funded in development, nor hidden behind a paywall (like Patreon), we probably just look the other way.

This often applies to non-professional programmers, learners, or those with no intent to exploit the project. We believe in understanding and leniency for those who might not know better.

GPL v3 exists to protect the project and its contributors. If you're not exploiting the project for commercial gain, you're not hurting us; and we will not enforce the terms of the GPL.

If you are interested in obtaining a commercial license, or want an explicit written exemption, please get in touch with the repository owners.

Yes, as long as you adhere to the GPLv3 license terms, you're permitted to statically link Reloaded Libraries into your project, for instance, through the use of NativeAOT or ILMerge.

Guidelines for Non-Commercial Use

We support and encourage the non-commercial use of Reloaded Libraries. Non-commercial use generally refers to the usage of our libraries for personal projects, educational purposes, academic research, or use by non-profit organizations.

Personal Projects

You're free to use our libraries for projects that you undertake for your own learning, hobby or personal enjoyment. This includes creating mods for your favorite games or building your own applications for personal use.

Educational Use

Teachers and students are welcome to use our libraries as a learning resource. You can incorporate them into your teaching materials, student projects, coding bootcamps, workshops, etc.

Academic Research

Researchers may use our libraries for academic and scholarly research. We'd appreciate if you cite our work in any publications that result from research involving our libraries.

Non-profit Organizations

If you're part of a registered non-profit organization, you can use our libraries in your projects. However, any derivative work that uses our libraries must also be released under the GPL.

Please remember, if your usage of our libraries evolves from non-commercial to commercial, you must ensure compliance with the terms of the GPL v3 license.

Attribution Requirements

As Reloaded Project is a labor of love, done purely out of passion and with an aim to contribute to the broader community, we highly appreciate your support in providing attribution when using our libraries.

While not legally mandatory under GPL v3, it is a simple act that can go a long way in recognizing the efforts of our contributors and fostering an open and collaborative atmosphere.

If you choose to provide attribution (and we hope you do!), here are some guidelines:

  • Acknowledge the Use of Reloaded Libraries: Mention that your project uses or is based on Reloaded libraries. This could be in your project's readme, a credits page on a website, a manual, or within the software itself.

  • Link to the Project: If possible, provide a link back to the Reloaded Project. This allows others to explore and potentially benefit from our work.

Remember, attribution is more than just giving credit,,, it's a way of saying thank you 👉👈, fostering reciprocal respect, and acknowledging the power of collaborative open-source development.

We appreciate your support and look forward to seeing what amazing projects you create using Reloaded libraries!

Code from MIT/BSD Licensed Projects

In some rare instances, code from more permissively licensed projects, such as those under the MIT or BSD licenses, may be referenced, incorporated, or slightly modified within the Reloaded Project.

It's important to us to respect the terms and intentions of these permissive licenses, which often allow their code to be used in a wide variety of contexts, including in GPL-licensed projects like ours.

In these cases, the Reloaded Project is committed to clearly disclosing the usage of such code:

  • Method-Level Disclosure: For individual methods or small code snippets, we use appropriate attribution methods, like programming language attributes. For example, methods borrowed or adapted from MIT-licensed projects might be marked with a [MITLicense] attribute.

  • File-Level Disclosure: For larger amounts of code, such as entire files or modules, we'll include the original license text at the top of the file and clearly indicate which portions of the code originate from a differently-licensed project.

  • Project-Level Disclosure: If an entire library or significant portion of a project under a more permissive license is used, we will include an acknowledgment in a prominent location, such as the readme file or the project's license documentation.

This approach ensures we honor the contributions of the open source community at large, respect the original licenses, and maintain transparency with our users about where code originates from.

Any files/methods or snippets marked with those attributes may be consumed using their original license terms.

i.e. If a method is marked with [MITLicense], you may use it under the terms of the MIT license.

Contributing to the Reloaded Project

We welcome and appreciate contributions to the Reloaded Project! By contributing, you agree to share your changes under the same GPLv3 license, helping to make the project better for everyone.