Fork & Attribution Policy
ReCreatingAnew (RCA)
Effective Date: April 28, 2026
Introduction
A significant portion of the RCA extension catalog consists of forks — extensions derived from pre-existing GPL-licensed Joomla extensions abandoned by their original developers. This policy describes how RCA handles attribution, naming, copyright, and licensing for all forked extensions, in full compliance with the GNU General Public License v2 and the Joomla Extension Directory (JED) submission requirements.
1. What "Forked" Means at RCA
An RCA extension is a fork when it is based on source code originally written by another developer. Forks at RCA are created only when the original extension:
1. Was released under a GPL-compatible license (GPL v2, GPL v3, or compatible)
2. Has no current Joomla 4/5/6-compatible release from the original developer
3. Is abandoned (no commits in 2+ years), discontinued (removed from JED or developer's site), or functionally broken on modern Joomla
2. Attribution We Include in Every Fork Package
In the ZIP Package
- `CREDITS.txt` — original extension name, original author, original URL, original license
- `LICENSE.txt` — full GPL v2 license text
- Original copyright notices preserved in PHP file headers
In the Joomla Manifest XML
- XML comment block identifying: `Forked from:`, `Original Author:`, `Original URL:`, `Original License:`
- `<author>` tag: `ReCreatingAnew (by GinA) — original by [Original Author]`
- `<copyright>` tag retains original copyright and adds RCA modification copyright
In PHP Source Files
- Substantially modified files: both original `@author` and added `@author ReCreatingAnew (by GinA) — Refactored for J4/5/6`
- Entirely new files (written by RCA): credited solely to RCA
- Lightly modified files: retain original author credit with a note
3. Current Fork Registry
| RCA Extension | Original Extension | Original Author | Original License |
|||||
| RCA AddMenuItem | Add to Menu PRO v6.8.1 | Regular Labs (Peter van Westen) | GPL v2+ |
| RCA EmbedComps | ComponentsAnywhere | Regular Labs (Peter van Westen) | GPL v2+ |
| RCA Feed Factory | RSS Factory | SKEPSIS Consult SRL (JoomlaTune) | GPL v2+ |
| RCA DataImportPro | FO Content Uploader | Freakedout | GPL v2+ |
| RCA AutoArticles | Article Generator | MCTrading | GPL v2+ |
| RCA HTMLConverter | HTML2Articles | Barnaby V. Dixon | GPL v2+ |
| RCA Jukebox | Jukebox | ExtensionSpot | GPL v2+ |
| RCA PriceBreak | BulkDiscount App | J2Store.org | GPL v2+ |
| RCA Rewards | Point Rewards App | J2Store.org | GPL v2+ |
| RCA Subscriptions | Subscriptions App | J2Store.org | GPL v2+ |
| RCA JEA | Joomla Estate Agency | Original Developer | GPL v2+ |
RCA SPPB Compat and RCA License are original RCA extensions — not forks.
4. Naming Conventions
| Original Name | RCA Name | Reason |
||||
| Add to Menu | RCA AddMenuItem | Avoids Regular Labs association; brand consistency |
| ComponentsAnywhere | RCA EmbedComps | Avoids Regular Labs association; descriptive |
| RSS Factory | RCA Feed Factory | Descriptive rename; brand consistency |
| FO Content Uploader | RCA DataImportPro | Descriptive rename; brand consistency |
| Article Generator | RCA AutoArticles | Descriptive rename; brand consistency |
| HTML2Articles | RCA HTMLConverter | Descriptive rename; brand consistency |
| Jukebox | RCA Jukebox | Brand prefix added |
| BulkDiscount | RCA PriceBreak | Descriptive; avoids J2Store trademark conflict |
| Point Rewards | RCA Rewards | Concise; avoids J2Store trademark conflict |
| Subscriptions | RCA Subscriptions | Brand prefix added |
| Joomla Estate Agency | RCA JEA | Preserves JEA element prefix; brand identity |
5. GPL Compliance Summary
| GPL Obligation | RCA Fulfillment |
|||
| Provide source code | Full source included in every ZIP; available on request |
| Preserve copyright notices | All original headers retained |
| Include GPL license text | LICENSE.txt in every package |
| State changes made | CHANGELOG.md documents all RCA modifications |
| Identify forks | CREDITS.txt and XML manifest comment block |
6. What We Do Not Do
- Claim sole authorship of code we did not write
- Remove or obscure original author copyright notices
- Fork extensions under non-GPL-compatible licenses
- Fork extensions where the original developer actively maintains a J4/5/6 version
- Contact or misrepresent association with original developers
7. Original Developer Rights
If you are the original developer of a forked extension and have concerns, contact
8. Contact
Email: