That's what they say, but it still bothers me a bit.
I've been writing free extensions for Joomla for a while now. There is one criteria that must be met before I'll write a Joomla extension:
- No free extension currently exists that does the same thing
It's pretty simple.
If I'm writing a free version of an existing commercial extension, I specifically avoid the commercial extension so that my code is absolutely unique and doesn't violate any copyrights.
So, this afternoon I was looking through the new extensions and found "Awo Email Login" by Seyi Awofadeju, or should I say - copied by Seyi Awofadeju. After downloading the Awo Email Login extension and comparing the code to my Authentication - Email extension, I found that Seyi had basically deleted the language files and changed a couple of variable names and released it as his own. Seriously, it's 100% identical to the code I released over a month earlier.
Update 10-12-2011:
Seyi Awofadeju has brought it to my attention that he, in fact, released a version of his plugin in a forum a little over two weeks prior to the release of my plugin. He pointed out that both are based on a core Joomla plugin, and that he was offended by my accusation. I can admit that I was wrong in making the accusation, and I appologize. I'm sorry Seyi.
Then, I found Secure Authentication by Michael Epstein J. I'm not as upset about this extension, because the code is distinct from my own AdminExile extension. I don't agree with his methods, but they're effective and accomplish the same thing as my extension released over a month earlier.
OK, I'm finished with my rant.
