Credits & Acknowledgements - ApertureViewer/Aperture-Viewer GitHub Wiki

We want to express our sincere gratitude and acknowledge the individuals and projects that have made Aperture Viewer possible. This project is built upon the foundation of open-source software and the dedicated efforts of many within the virtual world community.

The Aperture Viewer Team (v1.0.0)

The specific vision, feature implementation, quality assurance, and maintenance leading to the v1.0.0 release were driven by the following dedicated individuals:

  • Lead Developer:

    • William Weaver (paperwork.resident)

  • Head of Quality Assurance:

    • Surrealia Hexem

  • Quality Assurance Testers for Version 1.0.0:

    • Benjamin Corvinus
    • Eira Juliesse
    • Maladriel
    • Saya Starlight
    • Tornado Siren (Darl) (Also provided crucial technical contributions, see below)

  • With Valued Input From:

    • Anya Ohmai
    • Joslyn Benson
    • Marina Munter

Special Technical Contribution Acknowledged:

  • We specifically thank Tornado Siren (Darl) for their vital technical analysis and contributions towards cross-platform compatibility, particularly in identifying and assisting with solutions for Linux build system and filesystem case-sensitivity issues (e.g., commit 6b4d941ba6).

We extend a massive THANK YOU to the entire team! Your feedback, bug reports, suggestions, performance testing, development contributions, and enthusiasm during the development of v1.0.0 have been absolutely invaluable. You helped shape this release and ensure its quality.

(As the project grows, we look forward to acknowledging more contributors here!)

Linden Lab - The Originators

Aperture Viewer, and indeed the entire ecosystem of third-party viewers, exists thanks to the foundational work of Linden Lab, the creators of Second Life.

We extend our sincere appreciation to Linden Lab for:

  • Creating Second Life: The innovative virtual world platform that provides the canvas for our creations.
  • Developing the Official Viewer: The original software upon which all subsequent viewers are based.
  • Embracing Open Source: Their pivotal decision in 2007 to release the viewer source code under an open-source license (initially GPL, later LGPL) was fundamental. This act fostered a vibrant development community and enabled the creation of diverse viewers like Firestorm and, consequently, Aperture Viewer.

Linden Lab's commitment to open source laid the groundwork for the innovation and customization that users enjoy today across the SL/OpenSim landscape.

Firestorm Viewer Project Codebase

Aperture Viewer is derived from the open-source codebase of the Firestorm Viewer. We acknowledge the Firestorm Viewer Project for making their code available under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL).

Key Aspects of the Firestorm Codebase Utilized:

  • Open Source Foundation: Firestorm's release of their viewer code under the LGPL v2.1 license makes derived works like Aperture Viewer possible within the open-source framework.
  • Core Functionality: Aperture Viewer utilizes the core architecture, rendering components, and extensive feature implementations present in the Firestorm codebase as a starting point for its specialized development.

License: The Firestorm Viewer project distributes its code under the GNU Lesser General Public License, version 2.1 (LGPL). Aperture Viewer, being derived from Firestorm, also adheres to the terms of this license. We are committed to respecting the LGPL and fulfilling its obligations.

Phototools History - Community Input

Aperture Viewer integrates and significantly expands upon the Phototools concept, originally created by William Weaver (paperwork.resident).

The historical development of the original Phototools feature involved input and support from various community members over the years.

Thanks are due to the following individuals for their past contributions to Phototools development and support:

  • Ansariel Hiller
  • Beq Janus
  • Whirly Fizzle
  • zi-ree

Future Contributors - We Welcome Your Help!

Aperture Viewer is a community project, and we enthusiastically welcome contributions from anyone who wants to help make it even better!

While the core development is currently being driven primarily by William Weaver, we recognize that the best open-source projects thrive on collaboration and diverse perspectives. As Aperture Viewer grows, we look forward to welcoming contributions from other developers, artists, testers, document writers, and community members.

We encourage you to get involved! If you are interested in contributing to Aperture Viewer in any way, please consider:

  • Reporting Bugs and Suggesting Features: Help us identify areas for improvement by submitting detailed bug reports and thoughtful feature requests via GitHub Issues.
  • Contributing Code (Pull Requests): If you are a developer and have skills in C++ or viewer development, we welcome code contributions that align with the project's focus on visual excellence and creator tools. Please see the Contributing page for guidelines.
  • Improving Documentation (Wiki Edits or Suggestions): Help us make the Aperture Viewer Wiki even more helpful and user-friendly by suggesting improvements or contributing directly. Please see the Documentation Contribution page for guidelines.
  • Testing Development Builds and Providing Feedback: Download and use development builds of Aperture Viewer and share your experiences, feedback, and bug reports. User testing is invaluable in the development process.

We believe that collaborative contributions from a passionate community will be key to the future success of Aperture Viewer. We look forward to working with you!

Open Source Libraries and Dependencies

  • Numerous Open Source Libraries: Aperture Viewer, like the codebase it is derived from, relies on a wide range of excellent open-source libraries for various functionalities (networking, graphics, UI, etc.). We thank the developers and maintainers of all these libraries for their valuable contributions to the open-source ecosystem.

We are committed to giving proper credit and adhering to the licenses of all open-source software and libraries that contribute to Aperture Viewer.