I may have a Technorati version of the Blogger Web Comments Firefox extension running on my machine right now. Google directs users through a terms of service for the extension that asks users to agree to not modify the code, so I can can’t confirm my hacking…
You can download the Blogger Web Comments Firefox extension directly without passing through the terms of service if you would like.
Under part 4 of Google’s Firefox tools terms of service, proprietary rights, they claim full ownership over all released plugins and prohibit all modifications and derivative works.
Except as expressly authorized by Google, you agree not to modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute or create derivative works based on the Software, in whole or in part.
That sucks. When I use an open-source product I expect to be able to tweak, modify, hack, and break a few things. Slapping protections and restrictions on an extension of a Mozilla Public Licensed product seems a bit evil to me.
If anyone would like a copy of the plugin with green or pink styling, or with results from Technorati or another service, or with full support for the MetaWeblog API, I can tell you that definitely possible but Google’s lawyers might come after me if I admit to modifying the extension.
Tags: firefox, mozilla, opensource