theme/ template legal question
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Dear all,
Initially I was looking at some WordPress templates and found a few that I liked- then I read a comment somewhere about the illegality(?) of making changes to it. So… that led me to Sandbox. Great- and absolutely infuriating. While I would eventually like the skill and ability to effectively edit Sandbox, the truth is that time is a bit of a factor for me.
So my post and my question is with open source templates, what’re the ethical and legal options I have to make changes to things like the header image, font style, etc…
Your thoughts on this matter are appreciated.
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These links may be of use.
GNU License: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html
Sandbox license: http://www.plaintxt.org/wp-content/uploads/readme.html#license -
Somehow I get the feeling that the themes for use here on WP.com are already GPL licensed, so I’m not sure I understand the reason for your question. (Unless, of course, you are using the self-hosted version of WP, which would then make more sense.)
Regardless, there are quite a number of WP.com themes which allow you to upload your own header to make the theme more personalized.
But that’s about it without buying the CSS upgrade. Check the WP.com FAQ for Customization.
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Thank you by the way for paying attention to the copyright. You’re doing better than a lot of folks on line. :)
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To all who responded (thus far), thank you for your thoughts and time. Basically i’ve seen a bunch of great templates, but without the ability to customize them, not only does it just look like a template but there are simply design elements i cannot stand (ie: Georgia or Times Roman). What can i say? Serif’s are icky.
While researching this issue, i did come across this, which i thought was of interest- http://wordpress-plugins.feifei.us/10/wordpress-themes-are-gpl-code/ Basically the thought is that WordPress operates under the GPL agreement. Ergo, anyone making a template for WordPress is, generally speaking, subject to the GPL license agreement by extension.
The reason i’m so curious and equally cautious is that i work for a middle school in Portland, Oregon. We’re in dire need for a better way to disseminate information, so publishing via web just makes sense. But i want to make sure i do it right- and not have to “stand tall before the man” if my boss gets a “cease and desist” notice because i’ve broken a copyright law. Oops.
Justjennifer, a southern chicken fried thanks for your linky-links. I’ll have a look-see at those templates and see if any of them work for us.
thank you,
shelly / aka: shellito/ aka: weird IT guy -
With themes it’s a good idea to read the license agreement if one exists, and if one does not, contact the designer and ask where to find it. I found one I loved not too long ago, but the author allows no changes, and no derivative works. With most GPL themes the only thing the original author asks is attribution.
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@hosfordmiddleschool
By the way, thanks for the link. It looks to have some good reading in it, and what the author says makes sense.
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