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New methods for preventing and detecting reposts and unauthorized modifications

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Posted: 2020-03-11

New methods for preventing and detecting reposts and unauthorized modifications

A common problem on Greasy Fork is reposts and unauthorized modifications.

Reposts are when a script already on Greasy Fork is posted again, without any functional modifications. The original author of the code may not want their code copied in this way. This can also be confusing to users, as these additional entries can clutter script listings, and sometimes only the original will get updates.

Unauthorized modifications are when someone takes a script written by someone else, makes functional changes, and posts it to Greasy Fork. Some authors are OK with this, and have chosen a license that allows this, but others aren't.

Recently we've put in some changes to help deal with these issues.

Preventing reposts

One possible source of reposts is users who want to install the script, but are confused as to how to do it, and end up posting it again to Greasy Fork. To help prevent this, there is now a confirmation page shown when a user goes to post a script for the first time. This asks them if they're trying to install the script or post it, and provides help if they are looking to install.

Reposts can also occur when people don't realize that the script has already been posted. Sometimes scripts are primarily hosted elsewhere, and someone, wanting to be helpful, posts it to Greasy Fork. Then a second person does the same, and Greasy Fork ends up with two copies of the same thing. To prevent this, when posting a new script or a new version of a script, Greasy Fork will inform you of any scripts already posted with the exact same code. You can choose to ignore this warning and post anyway.

Detecting reposts and unauthorized modifications

The Derivatives tab that authors see for their scripts has been reworked to focus on the code of the script.

  • It now lists any scripts where any version of that script is the exact same as any version of the current script.
  • It now provides a list of the scripts whose latest version are most similar to the current script's version. This list is regenerated any time the script is updated, as well as regenerated periodically (there's an option to "skip the line" and regenerate within a few minutes).
  • It now provides a live search with similarity scoring.

What to do if you find a repost or unauthorized modification

Post a report on the script and moderators will review it and delete the script, if appropriate. If you're OK with modifications, choose a license for your script

Moderators will also delete any reposts they find. For modifications, we have no way of knowing if the original author has provided authorized.

Hopefully these changes will improve the quality of scripts posted on Greasy Fork, as well as make it easier for authors to deal with unwanted copies and modifications. We're open to any suggestions you have on this (or any) topic.

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