Minecraft Forums

Greetings, I would like to make a brief suggestion directly to Notch. It has come to my concern that Minecraft only supports official Java Runtime Environment 6 which has a proprietary binary. This is no good for those that use entirely free/open source software. Fortunately there has been a free project that can run most Java written applications and applets. This project is called IcedTea and is the base for OpenJDK. However, your game "Minecraft" does not support these alternatives. This is a problem not only technically but ethically as well. If your software only supports and promotes the use of proprietary software; it leads people to use software which takes away their freedom. I understand your choice not to distribute Minecraft itself under these terms although offering support for free/open standards should be highly considered. Please consider providing support for free and open standards as it is better for the community and ultimately serves good to everyone in the world.


Thanks,
Justin

"This is a problem not only technically but ethically as well."

No its not a problem. If I invent a new program just for windows I dont take away your freedom I add more freedom to other people. Its just the point of view that let you think that something has been taken away from you. It has not it was just not given to you. If Notch decides to do a game on open source standards well that is a nice idea but it isnt an ethic problem if he does not.

Quote from Heho »

"This is a problem not only technically but ethically as well."

No its not a problem. If I invent a new program just for windows I dont take away your freedom I add more freedom to other people. Its just the point of view that let you think that something has been taken away from you. It has not it was just not given to you. If Notch decides to do a game on open source standards well that is a nice idea but it isnt an ethic problem if he does not.

QFT

Absolutely not rue.

OpenJDK tries to do a Javaimplimentation that does the same as Sun(Oracles)'s Java.
So if the OpenJDK does not work, its THEIR fault. They want to provide the same as it is with Sun(Oracle)'s one, so they have to do it.

Many Ubuntu users are angry that they have taken Sun(Oracle)'s Java from the repository, trying to force everybody to use OpenJDK(if someone tries to force me, i quit, thats it), that doesnt provide the same as Sun(Oracle)'s which has been the standard.

I agree with the OP, and disagree with Heho and Soul_Cake_Duck whose vision is too simple in my opinion. Moreover, if Notch can tweak Minecraft so that it runs on this OpenJDK, it could also attract more customers, especially as free software users tend to be quite supportive of (even non-free) independent games. I have no idea how simple it would be to make this tweak though, and I doubt it is that simple.

By the way, I installed Sun's JRE6 on Debian but Minecraft would not work properly. All I got was some rectangles with different shades of gray, the mouse cursor changing, so I guess I was at the login screen. I have to reboot to Windows to play Minecraft. I know the suggestion forum is not the proper place for this but if anyone knows how to fix it, please PM me.

I agree, open sources attract way more people then those with none, it can be a really good pro, and we wouldn't have a lot of those redundant and rediculous suggestions.

Well, it would certainly be nice of him, but don't make it an ethical issue, because it isn't.

It's just a technical one, and I can't say if OpenJDK would be able to run Minecraft. If the open source alternatives lack some core feature Minecraft uses, it's your loss, and hardly Notch's fault or responsibility.

DooMeeR + Shadowmover: did you read what I have written? I guess not because I only said that it is NOT a ethical problem. I didnt negate that it would attract more people. Agree with MrTorus: it's neither Notch's fault nor responsibility. Additional to that: If Notch just doesnt want to work with open source(cause in most cases open source products are not as stable as closed source - what doesnt mean I dont work with/like open source products[I use Blender often and had maverick meerkat installed when it was just beta. And for coding java/PHP I always use netbeans...]) its his decission and not a "problem".

The problem part is just an opinion, Yes OpenJDK needs to do their part but tweaking it is more a long the lines of what I mean. However the ethical remark I made is what true free software users would say. I suppose I should have said I speak on behalf of them instead of making it seem as if I never use proprietary software. I use Windows for games and only games at least at this point. I was never saying any of this was Notch's fault; though it is a problem nonetheless. It's something to consider for sure.

Quote from Mollusk »

However the ethical remark I made is what true free software users would say. I suppose I should have said I speak on behalf of them instead of making it seem as if I never use proprietary software.

I wouldn't speak on behalf of them at all if I were you. If you've ever developed code then you'll understand that OpenJDK isn't really "free". It's one of the most argued things in software licensing (GPL), and taking the position you did is asking for problems. Should have just said "Hey it would be nice of Minecraft supported OpenJDK so more people can play it." and leave it at that, not go into a freetard speech.

I suggest you email to Notch, if you are truly serious about this.

Quote from Heho »

DooMeeR + Shadowmover: did you read what I have written? I guess not because I only said that it is NOT a ethical problem. I didnt negate that it would attract more people.

I did read what you wrote. I just said that I did not agree, without explaining why. Then I added more stuff (hence the use of the word "moreover"), which was not related to the ethical question. Sorry if that was not clear enough.