From time to time mod authors ask their works be removed from the CKAN. Whether or not we should do this is a matter of licensing and public good. Our policy is based on two simple principles:
- The CKAN, like the legal system, takes licenses very seriously.
- The CKAN acts in the interests of its users.
Restrictive licenses, including the default "All Rights Reserved", allow the content author absolute control over what happens to their work. If an All Rights Reserved or other restrictive license author asks for their mod to be de-indexed, we do so promptly and without question.
Permissive licenses—which includes every license the CKAN is aware of that's not marked restricted or unknown, and includes the popular Creative Commons family of licenses—provide explicit and irrevocable permission to use and redistribute the content. Such a license is a strong, legally binding promise that the author cannot stop others from reproducing their work. One of the primary purposes of such a license is protection against the mod author changing their mind, or imposing further restrictions at a later date.
When an author gives us explicit and irrevocable permission via a legal document to redistribute their work, we cannot in good faith de-index the mod and still act in the interests of our users. Whenever possible, mods with permissive licenses will be preserved by the CKAN, especially when alternate downloads to such mods exist, including those cached by the CKAN's own automated systems.