[maemo-developers] [maemo-developers] Abuse on the ApplicationCatalog page

[From: Aaron Levinson]

On Wed, 5 Apr 2006, Weinehall David (Nokia-M/Tampere) wrote:

> On tis, 2006-04-04 at 16:08 -0700, ext Aaron Levinson wrote:
> > Some of you may have noticed that a certain application keeps on being 
> > added and removed to the ApplicationCatalog page on the Wiki.  Originally, 
> > someone (presumably the author) added Nokia Media Studio to the page.  
> > Then, someone else removed the application.  This has occurred several 
> > times since, and the remover has attached the following comments to 
> > different removals: "This is not Nokia 770 software.  And it violates the 
> > licensing of at least ffmpeg" and "it was not a 770 app".
> 
> After a quick check of the "Nokia" Media Studio homepage, it seems that:
> 
> o The software is commercial
> o The software is not from Nokia (and thus possibly a Trademark
> violation)
> o The software is Windows-only
> o The homepage lists the 770 as a phone...
> 
> *If* it's based on ffmpeg, this is the license clash:
> 
> "This software may only be used to convert personally owned content .
> Makayama Software supports Fair Use."
> 
> [snip]
> 
> Of course, since the software seems to have the purpose of just
> converting media to formats that take less space, they could list just
> about every device that has a media-player, nothing Nokia specific
> there.  I would definitely not consider this in any way related to
> Maemo, except possibly by accident.  In fact, if this is to be
> considered Maemo-related, we might as well allow listing of Photoshop,
> Final Cut, CuBase, etc...
> 
> I don't see *any* justifiable reason for listing this software.

Whether or not this specific piece of software belongs on the Application
Catalog is besides the point.  My point is that the individual seems to be
all powerful when it comes to the maemo Wiki, and an individual could
easily remove an entry for whatever reason he/she so chooses.  Adding a
level of accountability, as I suggested, would likely deter this sort of
thing from occurring.  It's been done at Wikipedia, and it seems like a
reasonable thing to do with the maemo Wiki as well.

Also, whether or not this application belongs on the Application Catalog 
page, it's still appropriate to consult with the author before deleting an 
entry (something that is difficult to do if anyone can modify the Wiki 
without registering).  Doing otherwise, as the individual has done who has 
repeatedly deleted this entry, demonstrates a lack of common courtesy.

Aaron