[theme-reviewers] Flash objects in themes

[Chip Bennett]

Plugins that bundle binary blobs are required to include the human-editable
version of the file as well. I don't see why Themes would be any different.

The lack of a license is not merely a red-flag, but a show-stopper. Just as
we require explicit license declaration for font files, so would we also
require explicit license declaration for other binaries, such as SWF files.
(Personally, I think we're a bit lax on this point WRT bundled image/icon
files, too.)

Note that the Guidelines *do* discuss licensing, at length - but, I can
certainly clarify on this point if necessary.

But, all that said, my underlying question is: why does a Theme need to
bundle a flash audio player to begin with? Would a flash audio player be
rightly considered as Plugin Territory?

Chip

On Sat, Oct 15, 2011 at 10:58 AM, Michael Fields <michael at mfields.org>wrote:

> Hi Kirk,
>
> > Just a SWF, no FLA.
>
> This sounds like a red flag to me.
>
> It cannot be open source without the source file :)
>
> IMHO the presence of the FLA should be required in a GPL compatible theme.
>
> > There is no reference to any restrictions, nor a license.
>
>
> This sounds red flag-ish as well. But maybe not ...
>
> If no explicit license is present, I believe that the component (SWF)
> should inherit the license of the package as declared in style.css or
> license.txt in the theme folder.
>
> I have only limited experience with flash but, from what I remember seeing,
> license information in flash components is sometimes included directly in
> the source (FLA) file.
>
> Without being able to see the source, it is impossible to know whether the
> component's licensing conflicts with the GPLv2.
>
> These are just my opinions on the matter. I'm no expert when it comes to
> licensing, but I do my best to approach situations with common sense. logic
> and a love for open source. This is a very good topic for discussion and
> maybe something that should be added to the theme guidelines once a
> consensus is reached.
>
> Best,
> - Mike
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