AIM is Open...including video

axisdrama · Post by **axisdrama** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 8:43 pm

Wow! Check it out. AIM is fully open now and they're giving access to video information. Does this do anything for future Adium compatibility with iChat/AIM video/audio?

Post by **Catfish_Man** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 11:20 pm

I read their license... it's awful. Unless that changes, we can't look at it, let alone use it.

axisdrama · Post by **axisdrama** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 3:05 am

That's too bad. It sounded so hopeful. Perhaps it might change, though since it says on the website (http://dev.aol.com/aim), "More changes are coming soon! Even more is coming over the next few months".

Here's some other info from the site:

-Development of AIM-Enabled, Multi-IM Protocol Clients. AOL now allows multiheaded clients to access the AIM network
-Freedom of Choice to Access the AIM Network. Use the AOL-provided libraries or open source libraries such as libpurple or jOscar
-Full access to the complete set of functionality provided by the network, including Voice, Video, and P2P capabilities
-Access to OSCAR Protocol Documentation. We now document and publish the protocol used to communicate to the AIM network

zheaton · Post by **zheaton** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 3:51 am

I just read the license as well - it's pretty hideous. For anyone who doesn't want to trawl through the AIM site, here's the ugly bits:

You must display AOL's ads/toolbars/commercial tie-ins:

Additional Feature Requirements. Any Custom Client or Web AIM Developer Application that you distribute must include at least two of the following features or functionalities ("Additional Features") as an integral part of such distributed Developer Application:

AIM Expressions. Inclusion of the capability for your users to choose and display a Buddy Icon to customize his or her user experience and provide a link to the AOL-Hosted AIM Expressions web page as documented in the AOL Additional Features document.

AIM Toolbar. Inclusion of the AIM Toolbar as a user-selected option during the registration/download/installation process for the Developer Application, as applicable.

AIM Start Page Launch. Inclusion of the launch of the AIM Start Page upon users. logon to your Site or to the Developer Application.

Buddy Info. Inclusion of content provided by AOL that includes information about a user's online status, including the user's AIM profile, and AOL-supplied advertising.

Advertisement. Inclusion of an AOL-provided display advertisement ("Advertisement") within your Custom Client, Site or activity window. Unless otherwise provided in a written agreement, all revenue from such Advertisement will belong to AOL.

There's also the "no open sourcing of the SDK" clause, which means that open source client applications will have to shim in a closed-source library to talk to the network. I'm not a GPL lawyer, but that requirement is probably right on the edge of GPL-compatibility. And if the Adium/Pidgen/Libpurple team counts as "the open source community," then they're not allowed to see the SDK:

L.2 You warrant to AOL that: (a) you will not incorporate any Mandated Free Public Distribution Software, in whole or in part, into any part of the Presence Tools, any AOL-provided SDK or the Web AIM Code; (b) you will not use Mandated Free Public Distribution Software, in whole or in part, in the development of any part of any Developer Application in a manner that may subject the Tools or the AIM Service, in whole or in part, to all or part of the license obligations of any Mandated Free Public Distribution Software; (c) any Mandated Free Public Distribution Software is contained solely within specific package and/or components of your Developer Application; (d) you will comply with the instructions of the Open Source Federation (http://www.opensource.org) with respect to modification of Mandated Free Public Distribution Software, and will promptly report to AOL, in writing, any deviation therefrom; and (e) you have processes and precautions necessary to prevent any risk that the Tools, or any other AOL-provided software, will be provided to the open source community or otherwise into the public domain, as a result of your activities under this Agreement.

From "Definitions:"

"Mandated Free Public Distribution Software" means any software that contains, or is derived in any manner (in whole or in part) from, any software that is distributed as free software, open source software or similar licensing or distribution models, and that requires as a condition of its use, modification or distribution that such software or other software incorporated into, derived from or distributed with such software (1) be disclosed or distributed in source code form; (2) be licensed for the purpose of making derivative works; or (3) be redistributable at no charge.