On: An open letter to our community

[rhtgrg]

Jan '22 TOS does not have such a clause either (from archive.org):

https://web.archive.org/web/20220716041837/https://unity.com...

At this point I'm pretty sure this is a dishonest attempt to dig up a 2020 change (if this clause even ever existed, which I've seen zero proof of) and correlate it to a 2023 announcement as if these things were done in tandem.

Downvote me all you want. I don't think Godot et al will survive with these scummy tactics.

[tombert → rhtgrg]

I seriously doubt this is some conspiracy from the Godot team, even if it's dishonest. I think people are probably drawing some correlations as a response to an announcement that they don't like, and then saying "Godot doesn't have this bullshit because it's open source". I don't think the Godot team is engaging in "scummy tactics" explicitly.

ETA:

Also, if you're going to edit your responses after you post them, I recommend using the `delay` feature in your HN settings, or adding an addendum section like I'm doing here, as it's a little unfair to people responding to you to make undisclosed changes so it looks like people responding to you aren't responding to all your points. I'm not saying you're being dishonest, I'm just saying that it feels a little unfair to responders.

[rhtgrg → tombert]

Thanks, I'll use the delay feature. I accept that this has nothing to do with Godot.

I did find the TOS in question, as expected, it's very old (from 2019):

https://web.archive.org/web/20201111183311/https://github.co...

So people saying "who's to say they won't do this again," if four years isn't enough for you to catch up, I don't know what to tell you.

Edit: They have also brought the repo back, which was likely another unrelated change:

https://github.com/Unity-Technologies/TermsOfService

[danShumway → rhtgrg]

The Jan 22 TOS you link to includes this section:

> Notwithstanding this Section 1.4, any modification of the Unity Software Additional Terms is subject to Section 8 of the Unity Software Additional Terms.

If you click on the "Unity Software Additional Terms" link within that clause, it will take you to the July 2022 snapshot of those terms in the Internet Archive (https://web.archive.org/web/20220716082334/https://unity.com...). Section 8 reads:

> Unity may update these Unity Software Additional Terms at any time for any reason and without notice (the “Updated Terms”) and those Updated Terms will apply to the most recent current-year version of the Unity Software, provided that, if the Updated Terms adversely impact your rights, you may elect to continue to use any current-year versions of the Unity Software (e.g., 2018.x and 2018.y and any Long Term Supported (LTS) versions for that current-year release) according to the terms that applied just prior to the Updated Terms (the “Prior Terms”). [etc...]

As of March 2023, those terms were still present in the TOS (https://web.archive.org/web/20230303043022/https://unity.com...), moved to section 6 (Modifications to these Software Terms and Long-Term Supported versions).

The terms disappear in the May 2023 snapshot (https://web.archive.org/web/20230528084511/https://unity.com...), which states that the last update to the TOS was April 3rd, 2023, which is fully consistent with all of the reporting about this change.

Not only is there no conspiracy from Godot, the reporting is correct. The TOS was modified between March/May of 2023 to remove the reported clause and the Internet Archive proves it.