Free Software Ideas

[TheTuxer]

First of all,hello!:)
Then,I wanted to make you know this "project" of mine,which is called Free Software Ideas.
Basically it's a website where you can post your ideas for new open source software you would like to be developed and some programmers can pick up your idea and create this software.
Obviously you can comment and rate the ideas.
There are still some details I have to add,for example the internal search engine,the blog and the division of the ideas into categories,but it is up and working!:P
You can find it here (http://freesoftwareidea.icr38.net/).:)

Thanks for your attention!:P

[happysmileman]

Seems like a very good idea.

And I know it's still in development but some ideas I think would help it :P:

* Allowing developers to "mark" an idea as being implemented, they could add a link to a webpage for it (blog, sourceforge project page, a website they make etc.), perhaps more than one developer could do this since more than one developer may take on the idea in a different way (console app, web app, GTK app, Qt app etc.)
* Allowing users to "subscribe" to an idea, so whenever it's marked or a comment is added they get notified.
* There could be a place for users to post software that needs a maintainer (old software that's no longer updated) or for developers to ask for help with software they are creating.

[BackwardsDown]

Great idea, it would be really cool with votes, comments, subscriptions and links to launchpad :)

[linsux]

I actually like the idea. But, it might work out better if you buy hosting, instead of using free.

[happysmileman]

I actually like the idea. But, it might work out better if you buy hosting, instead of using free.

Was thinking the same, but I guess it's probably not wise to fork over cash until the site's finished and he's sure there's definite interest in it

[linsux]

Was thinking the same, but I guess it's probably not wise to fork over cash until the site's finished and he's sure there's definite interest in it

I'd say it seems like a good enough idea to deserve a paid host, or at least its own domain.

[BackwardsDown]

Im not getting my activation code when I register

[mdmarmer]

If you want a program, write it -- or at least, design it.
I would like to see a free software Bridge game. I think if anyone wanted to write one, they already would have. There's no shortage of problems, only a shortage of problem solvers.

Your idea may be good, but how many good programmers don't already have work to do?

Mike

[TheTuxer]

Thank you all for the feedback!:P

happysmileman is right:I chose a free host because I didn't know if there could be some interest or not.
But as I can see now,there is!And this gives me a good reason to improve the project!:P
And thanks also for the ideas happysmileman,I'm going to implement them as soon as I can!:)

[TheTuxer]

Im not getting my activation code when I register

This happened to me too,unfortunately it takes a bit (half an hour or so)..I think it's because of the host,but I'm not really sure =S

[happysmileman]

Im not getting my activation code when I register

Took about 10-15 minutes for me to get mine, I assume it's due to him using a free host


If you want a program, write it -- or at least, design it.
I would like to see a free software Bridge game. I think if anyone wanted to write one, they already would have. There's no shortage of problems, only a shortage of problem solvers.

Your idea may be good, but how many good programmers don't already have work to do?
Not everyone knows how to program, so it's a bit stupid to say "If you want a program, write it", or to imply that anyone who ever wants to see a piece of software should have to learn to program (Althouth that is the only way to be 100% certain you'll get what you want, it's not feasible for many people).

And I imagine there's a lot of students who would like to get some experience coding, whether for learning purposes or simply to put on their CV.

[TheTuxer]

Im not getting my activation code when I register

If tomorrow it still isn't arrived,I will activate your account and try to find out why it didn't work.:)
But it would very strange,since it worked for me and for happysmileman too,didn't it?

[aaaantoine]

If you want a program, write it -- or at least, design it.
I would like to see a free software Bridge game. I think if anyone wanted to write one, they already would have. There's no shortage of problems, only a shortage of problem solvers.

Your idea may be good, but how many good programmers don't already have work to do?

Mike

A developer might be stumped on what to do for his next project, see this page, and use it to challenge him (or her) self.

[Namtabmai]

Two things. Firstly if you want to get more interest remove the registration restriction.

Secondly, for a free software ideas site. Why is there a copyright notice at the bottom? I realise this is probably for the site templates, but others may not. Exactly how free are the ideas posted? This is something you *have* to point out very clearly.

If I posted an idea, how free is that idea? What obligations does the person implementing it have to follow, if any? What obligations do I have to follow by posting an idea?

This last bit needs to be made clear more than any other point.

[chris200x9]

I like the idea

[TheTuxer]

[QUOTE=Namtabmai;7241887
Secondly, for a free software ideas site. Why is there a copyright notice at the bottom? I realise this is probably for the site templates, but others may not. Exactly how free are the ideas posted? This is something you *have* to point out very clearly.

If I posted an idea, how free is that idea? What obligations does the person implementing it have to follow, if any? What obligations do I have to follow by posting an idea?

This last bit needs to be made clear more than any other point.[/QUOTE]

Well,the copyright notice is for the site template(I'm not a good designer so I took it from the web =S).
However,the questions you make are very important and I'm not sure about how to answer you,as I've never thought about that,I'm sorry..
I don't know the exact terms and conditions,but GPL licenses should be appropriate,isn't it?
What do you suggest?:confused:

[monsterstack]

There are plenty of places that offer GPL'd or CC'd web templates. Such as here (http://www.oswt.co.uk/) [oswt.co.uk] and here (http://www.opendesigns.org/view-designs/) [opendesigns.org], for instance.

[TheTuxer]

There are plenty of places that offer GPL'd or CC'd web templates. Such as here (http://www.oswt.co.uk/) [oswt.co.uk] and here (http://www.opendesigns.org/view-designs/) [opendesigns.org], for instance.

Hmm..it's really strange..on opendesigns I found some templates (including the one I used) which are copyright protected..:confused:

EDIT:no it's not true..the text "copyright etc etc" is relative to the website which uses the template,not to the template,and is a default text used by the template..I will delete it..

[monsterstack]

It's possible the copyright notices might just be there as part of the template, and not actually for the template. Check the terms of use to see which it is. I've seen a few templates that allow you to remove the notices so long as you email them and ask nicely too.

Edit: good stuff!

[TheTuxer]

there's still a problem:how should I point out the fact that the ideas are to be used for free software? :confused:

[happysmileman]

there's still a problem:how should I point out the fact that the ideas are to be used for free software? :confused:

Well you can't really say "You may only code this under a free license", and inevitably people may take the ideas and code them in a proprietary license, there's really nothing you could do to stop it.

[TheTuxer]

Well you can't really say "You may only code this under a free license", and inevitably people may take the ideas and code them in a proprietary license, there's really nothing you could do to stop it.

So it's quite useless doing it.. =S

[monsterstack]

Not really. The GPL is a licence you can trust, which is why so many Linux developers use it. If somebody decides to take an idea and go off and make a horrible payware EULA piece of crap, no one is going to want to help him, and you still have the original idea there on the site for real developers.

[TheTuxer]

Not really. The GPL is a licence you can trust, which is why so many Linux developers use it. If somebody decides to take an idea and go off and make a horrible payware EULA piece of crap, no one is going to want to help him, and you still have the original idea there on the site for real developers.

So you think I should write somewhere that the ideas are meant to be used for free software?:confused:

[happysmileman]

So you think I should write somewhere that the ideas are meant to be used for free software?:confused:

If you're going to make it possible to add links to implementations of the ideas you could say that you'll only link to free software implementations or something like that.

That way anyone can use the ideas, but only those who implement them with a free license get any exposure from your site.

[TheTuxer]

If you're going to make it possible to add links to implementations of the ideas you could say that you'll only link to free software implementations or something like that.

That way anyone can use the ideas, but only those who implement them with a free license get any exposure from your site.

It's a good idea!:)
But the links have to be approved before being added,to make sure that the software link is really free..:)

[TheTuxer]

I'm working on your ideas,happysmileman..I've already implemented the possibility to add links,which have to be approved before they are shown under the description of the idea.Next I'll implement the possibility to subscribe to an idea and some other stuff,like search functionality and so on.It should be ready in a couple days,I hope,but I'm not sure,as I have quite a lot to do in this period..
However,as soon as I have implemented the subscribe feature I'll apply the changes to the website. :)

[TheTuxer]

Well..done!Now you can subscribe to an idea and also publish links(which have to be approved,in order to allow only those referring to free software).
Next I'll implement searching and some other features,including happysmileman's ideas..:)