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I've Just Liberated My Modules

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Re: I've Just Liberated My Modules

#442

The fact that this is possible with NPM seems really dangerous. The author unpublished (erm, "liberated") over 250 NPM modules, making those global names (e.g. "map", "alert", "iframe", "subscription", etc) available for anyone to register and replace with any code they wish. Since these libs are now baked into various package.json configuration files (some with 10s of thousands of installs per month, "left-pad" with…

I'm left thinking of how Go does it, whereby repositories are downloaded via git or whatever version control software's URL. Making it impossible for the admins of "NPM" to take down a package. Add in IPFS and you've got one heck of a "package manager" I guess Go's approach is not really a "package manager" but nobody can truly stop you from downloading from a git repository, and if they do, you can go to the forks e…

Without IPFS, pretty sure authorities can order to take down the repository and all of the forks.

Re: I've Just Liberated My Modules

#443

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless you're npm: https://twitter.com/seldo/status/712414400808755200

That's pretty interesting. I wonder if it's within npm's legal right to distribute someone else's IP in such a way that they do not desire. Granted the license is WTFPL but does that include taking over the IP itself?

Post Berne, I believe copyright is the default. It may be WTFPL but it appears to be surprisingly hard to actually put something into public domain based on the brief reading I've been doing.

Re: I've Just Liberated My Modules

#444

The fact that this is possible with NPM seems really dangerous. The author unpublished (erm, "liberated") over 250 NPM modules, making those global names (e.g. "map", "alert", "iframe", "subscription", etc) available for anyone to register and replace with any code they wish. Since these libs are now baked into various package.json configuration files (some with 10s of thousands of installs per month, "left-pad" with…

I'm left thinking of how Go does it, whereby repositories are downloaded via git or whatever version control software's URL. Making it impossible for the admins of "NPM" to take down a package. Add in IPFS and you've got one heck of a "package manager" I guess Go's approach is not really a "package manager" but nobody can truly stop you from downloading from a git repository, and if they do, you can go to the forks e…

The same can happen with GitHub repositories, though, that is how the vast majority of Go packages get published.

It's almost as if privately controlled, centralized archives are a bad idea.

Re: I've Just Liberated My Modules

#445

The fact that this is possible with NPM seems really dangerous. The author unpublished (erm, "liberated") over 250 NPM modules, making those global names (e.g. "map", "alert", "iframe", "subscription", etc) available for anyone to register and replace with any code they wish. Since these libs are now baked into various package.json configuration files (some with 10s of thousands of installs per month, "left-pad" with…

Also explaining nicely with real life to the face why you should only use specific versions, or at least specific ranges for your dependencies.

Re: I've Just Liberated My Modules

#446
I don't see the issue here. If the name is taken the lawful way (and Kik is a clothes store chain as well as a chat app, so it's even taken twice) why fight it or be angry about it? Just take another name.

That said the decisions by NPM are also hard to follow. Why allow someone else to take over ownership of a package? Why allow anyone to take down published versions of an open source package? If you publish open source stuff on my site I have all the right to keep that stuff in that version and share it with others. That's pretty much what FOSS is about, right?

Re: I've Just Liberated My Modules

#447

Also: https://twitter.com/seldo/status/712414400808755200

In all honesty, I think npm handled this whole situation poorly. I'm not excusing the dev's behavior but I take issue with npm removing the module as well as arbitrarily restoring left-pad (with the cop-out of same name, different dev) WTFPL notwithstanding.

For those defending Kik's trademark, its like MS trying to trademark the word Windows. Didn't work that well for them either.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Corp._v._Lindows.com....

Re: I've Just Liberated My Modules

#448
I am obviously a old fossilized ancient developer. This situation seems like insanity.

not the unpublishing part. the part where the thing that you require to sell/publish/do your job isn't under control or isn't stored within your organization.

Am i wrong in thinking that you should just have a local copy of all of your source code dependencies. would it really take that much longer?

Re: I've Just Liberated My Modules

#449

Can we talk about how patents own namespaces? If I have a little "kik" soccer tournament that no one knows about, then it's fine. As soon as the namespace collides with the HUGE, vastly connected internet, it's a "problem". We're going to run out of proper nouns, folks.

> Can we talk about how patents own namespaces?

This has nothing to do with patent law. It's a trademark dispute. The two types of laws are as unrelated as property law and contract law.

Re: I've Just Liberated My Modules

#450
This seems like a fairly childish response. I'm not pro-copyright, especially in software, but "someone took my made up name" seems like a dumb reason to unpublish the rest of your work.

> "NPM is someone’s private land"

No shit npm is a privately owned company? That hasn't changed before nor after you took these actions.

> "Power To The People"

This is what I don't get. All of the modules that were unpublished seem unpopular / not used so I don't know what impact this will have, but how does screwing over users of open source software equate to power to the people?

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