Wago.io Partners up with WowUp
Wago.io has announced their new partnership with WowUp, a popular addon manager focused on providing a good experience for the users while maintaining their privacy.
Originally Posted by Wago.io
Hey everyone,

It all started with a Discord DM and today, we’re proud to share that we’ve partnered with WowUp, the popular open source addon manager to expand our addon repository and create new opportunities for devs to be compensated for their hard work.

Both Wago Addons and WowUp have the same goal: to create the best user experience possible. Equally important, the WowUp team shares our dedication to maintaining your privacy.

Here at Wago, compensating devs is very important to us - we know how much work goes into creating an addon that so many WoW players rely on. We were upfront about this when speaking with the WowUp team and were happy to learn that they were open to making changes to their client in order to ensure devs were compensated for their work.

What this means for you: If you only use Wago Addons, absolutely nothing - you can still update, install and search addons in the desktop app as you are used to. If you also use WowUp, you will see in the coming weeks that we’re accrediting downloads to Wago so that we can compensate developers. We are doing this through an integration that adds Wago Addons as an addon provider to WowUp.

As an addon developer you might be wondering how we can ensure there’s a sizable pool of funds to distribute when players download their addons through WowUp. The solution is very simple. Users are now able to choose Wago as a provider in the desktop application. This will slightly change the app’s layout because it unlocks Wago’s promotional panel. After that, all downloads through the Wago Provider will be attributed to your share of the monthly rewards.

You can start using it by downloading the recent beta release of WowUp from GitHub: LINK

Wago has always been a community driven project and we want to support community members however we can. Partnering with WowUp ensures our community project continues on and gives the community a choice when it comes to supporting an addon platform.

All the best,
The Wago Team



CurseForge Denies WowUp's Application for API Access
Overwolf has shared an update on the CurseForge API, citing a 700% increase to the average monthly earnings for creators, and the denial of WowUp's application for API access.
Originally Posted by Overwolf
CurseForge API Submissions and Approvals

Since we acquired CurseForge from Twitch in 2020, we’ve been excited and honored to partner with an incredible modding community. We are particularly proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish. Since the transfer of CurseForge to Overwolf in December 2020, the average monthly earnings each creator makes grew 700%! This reflects the hard work done by the mods authors, the CurseForge team, as well as the trust that the community has given us.

In October 2020, we explored offering an official CurseForge API to creators and developers, and we addressed three core issues in a Medium post. We had open conversations with mod manager creators to address fundamental issues listed in that post in order to find a way to co-exist. After those conversations, we created an official API with a Terms of Service (TOS) agreement with the goal of providing stabilization and allowing us to scale. Overall, we received 107 applications for API access from developers. As of January 31, 2022 Overwolf approved 94 of those and denied or requested edits and reapplication from 13.

WowUp's application for API access

Since the transition of CurseForge from Twitch, Overwolf has supported WowUp, a well known front end addon manager, that pulls updates and downloads directly from several WoW repositories including CurseForge. WowUp’s application for API access was in the process of being approved when they announced their partnership with Wago, a direct competitor to CurseForge.

As a result of this announcement, WowUp’s application was denied as this partnership does not comply with Section 3.1 of our terms of services which states that a “Developer shall not use the API or SDK, or any materials obtained through the API or SDK, in order build any product or service that competes, directly or indirectly, with CF, CFC or the Platform.”

We welcome competition. Competition leads to better products and a more developed community. Our ultimate goal has always been that people will choose CurseForge because it’s the best way to support addon developers, and because it is the best product out there, not because it is the only option. But while we welcome diversity in the marketplace, we can’t sponsor the costs of the competition that is building its user base on top of Curseforge infrastructure, metadata entered by addon developers and our server and CDN costs.

WowUp is a respected project, we wish the WowUp team and Wago success and look forward to seeing what they build in the future.

If you have any questions about our ToS, please reach out to api@curseforge.com.

We are excited for the future of WoW creations no matter what platform they are built on. On the CurseForge side, we are happy to announce that we are close to releasing our Linux App alpha for users who until this point were not able to use the CurseForge app. We’re hyped for WoW’s upcoming Patch 9.2 and thrilled to see how the CurseForge API can serve the community in developing additional awesome, passion driven creations.



WowUp's Update on the CurseForge API Application
Jliddev, the creator of WowUp, posted a reply on Patreon in regards to Overwolf's statement.
Originally Posted by Jliddev
As many of you may or may not have heard there has been an update on our CurseForge API application.

Long story short after months of relative radio silence about our application to use the new API I received a rejection email yesterday followed by some blog post published by CurseForge minutes later. The blog post says that our application was denied because we gave users the option to use the new Wago integration. I attempted to contact them directly for clarification and received no answers.

Since this blog post was posted I have seen a lot of wild ideas that I might be able to address.

  • We do not receive anything from showing the optional Wago ad, it is simply a requirement of giving you access to their API.
  • When Overwolf leadership and myself met before they completely took over from Twitch I asked them if they were open to the same method of API access that we now use with Wago. They were not interested.
  • We are not "fighting over users" as we are not operating as a business designed to make profit, all the Patreon funds are specifically for paying for infrastructure, WowUp's only goal is to be useful for the community.

Where do we go from here?

As it stands right now, support for the CurseForge API will end whenever they shut off their current V1 API. They have chosen to deny our API key application so we cannot offer a service to support their new V2 for the community. I cannot comment on when this might be as they have pushed back their own deadline several times already.

This will likely dramatically affect the number of addons available to the WowUp client. There's little we can do at this point unless Overwolf suddenly decides that they want to talk again.

If your favorite addon is not available on any of our other providers, you can always politely ask them if they are open to hosting it elsewhere. For example Wago has a similar payout structure as CurseForge. There are dev tools that make this painless. However, remember that it is their choice to make and they are just people like you.

As always I will try to be available to any questions you have, the easiest way is still Discord since i will get notifications there.



WowUp 2.6.0 Client Changes
Several addon managers such as Ajour and CurseBreaker have been discontinued since the CurseForge Legacy API will become unavailable sometime in February (according to Overwolf's timeline update from last year).

Meanwhile, after "months of relative radio silence (regarding the use of CurseForge's API)", WowUp added an option to use the Wago repository in the 2.6.0 release. The Wago repository expands the user's options for searching, downloading and updating new addons, however, this comes at the cost of showing one ad in the bottom left corner. Note that this new feature is optional, disabled by default, and users have to opt-in to enable it.


Jliddev shared more info about WowUp now running ads (optionally, at the user's request) on Patreon.
Originally Posted by Jliddev
As always, it has been a while since my last post. Last time we talked about the upcoming changes to the CurseForge API to limit apps like WowUp and other addon managers. Since then, the updater ecosystem has changed quite a bit with the loss of our friends Ajour and CurseBreaker.

Rest assured, we have been hard at work trying to keep the light of hope alive regarding the transparency of World of Warcraft addon updates. We are excited to announce that we have been working with the team at Wago.io to add them as our latest addon provider. For users and authors, this is good news as it expands their options for installing, updating, and publishing addons.

However, to use the Wago.io addon provider, users will be required to have an ad shown in the corner of the app. I know what you’re thinking “ads!? I use WowUp to avoid ads!”. The good news is that you still can. If you do not want to see ads in your WowUp you can opt not to use the new Wago.io addon provider and they will not appear, simple as that. You will be prompted to enable Wago.io when you first start up WowUp, and it will not be active by default.

Many of you will have questions about why the WowUp team made this decision and its benefit. I will do my best to answer some big-ticket questions here. If you have more questions, feel free to reach out, Discord is probably the place to get the quickest answers.You can check out these changes in progress via our beta builds on GitHub

Its optional

Just to reiterate, if you do not want to see the ad, simply don’t enable it.

Why the ads?

There are two main reasons for making these ads a requirement. First, Wago.io pays the authors a majority cut from the revenue that is generated from the ads. This is good for everyone. Feel free to read more about their author program here.

Second it costs money to serve you addons. Take the WowUpHub for example, it is funded by this Patreon and uses up most of the monthly donations to power the API. We rely on GitHub/GitLab paying the storage bandwidth. Wago.io handles their own addon storage, so their costs will grow significantly higher than ours under the same user load.

What's in it for WowUp?

The same thing that we have always wanted is a transparent way to manage your World of Warcraft addons. We do not get any cut or compensation from these ads so that we can maximize the return for the authors.

Since WowUp is open source, anyone and everyone can make sure that data is not being taken. The advertisement runs in a separate runtime and has no access to platform-level APIs, so it can’t gather anything from your machine.
This article was originally published in forum thread: Wago.io Partners up with WowUp, CurseForge Denies WowUp's Application for API Access started by Lumy View original post
Comments 299 Comments
  1. Cosmic Janitor's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Niwes View Post
    yeah, thought the same. especially since MS paid 69 billions to buy Blizzard. if i were MS i would put in another xx millions (which is laughable compared to the ATVI Blizz deal) to just buy Overwolf too. Refund all addon others and get some good WoW PR and the infrastructure for free.
    Considering that they already own github and minecraft (another franchise that heavily relied on curseforge for a while), that may actually be not such a bad idea.
  1. Niwes's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Felis igneus View Post
    Considering that they already own github and minecraft (another franchise that heavily relied on curseforge for a while), that may actually be not such a bad idea.
    yep. they already have the infrastructures and all things they need. and me, as sw dev since 25 years (10+ years in .NET) can assure you, MS knows how to handle development platforms. it would be easy AF for them, to offer a good, wellformed platform and find a good solution for WoW players AND refunded WoW addon authors.
  1. Sinured's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Mendzia View Post
    You clearly do not know any of Overwolf shady shit from the past.
    This was the reason why we stopped using TS3 (muuuch before Discord meta).
    what does ts3 have to do with that shitty app?
    so you could not check a box witch says "dont install bloatware".

    just wow, no wonder wow feels like playing with bots.
  1. Mendzia's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Sinured View Post
    what does ts3 have to do with that shitty app?
    This question shows that you have no idea about Overwolf history.
    Google it.

    Quote Originally Posted by Sinured View Post
    so you could not check a box witch says "dont install bloatware".
    You could not.

    Quote Originally Posted by Sinured View Post
    just wow, no wonder wow feels like playing with bots.
    ????
  1. Sinured's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Nerph- View Post
    Yep, and who's fault is that? Their own. I don't care if there is a possibility their app is safe to use now, their practices in the past have earned them this skepticism and it is their own fault. I have no issue if others wish to trust them, but I don't.
    wrote the hypocrite who types on a WOW fanpage.

    and what rep Blizz have?
    tell me?
    If you would have some decency you would uninstall everything you have on you bnet launcher,
    go boy, eat your words!

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Mendzia View Post
    This question shows that you have no idea about Overwolf history.
    Google it.



    You could not.



    ????
    why should i google something?
    I could use TS2 fine 10 years ago without bloatware,
    was that some shady USA only thing? no probs in germany.
    I could just install TS2 root and client with no added shit.
  1. Mendzia's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Sinured View Post
    why should i google something?
    I could use TS2 fine 10 years ago without bloatware,
    was that some shady USA only thing? no probs in germany.
    I could just install TS2 root and client with no added shit.
    I think there is a huge difference between numbers 2 and 3...
    Why would you assume i am from US?... and what it has to do with this situation?...
    Holy shit... sometimes i can not believe what conclusions people can draw...
  1. FelPlague's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Mendzia View Post
    This question shows that you have no idea about Overwolf history.
    Google it.



    You could not.



    ????
    Literally just installed ts3 to check.

    It does not install overwolf
    It asks you if you want to
    And not by some shady "accept decline" it's literally "back/next" with a preview of what overwolf does with ts3 and a checkbox to enable it if you want


    So someone downloading ts3 right now who reads nothing and just downloads the program will not be installing overwolf.

    Do your research so I don't have to.

    Also as someone who used ts3 all the way up till recently on multiple devices. It never required or even by default downloaded overwolf. It only ever pointed it out or reccomended it.
  1. Mendzia's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by FelPlague View Post
    Literally just installed ts3 to check.

    It does not install overwolf
    [...]
    Cool.
    It is possible it does that way now but who cares as TS3 is 'deaded' now due Discord.
    It did automatically install ~10 years ago and was annoying with popups and you could no longer use most voicechannels without it.
    Keep defending it as you want but i won't change my opinion about this bloatware.
  1. rrayy's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Delekii View Post
    I'm sure you checked your computer each time you used the app because of your overwhelming trust in the company to do the right thing, huh?



    Overwolf is a company that lives and dies by finding ways to make money from other people's work, injecting themselves into processes where they aren't needed or wanted. Bloatware's entry in the dictionary might very well have their logo as it's illustration. At no point should anybody ever take them at their word, nor believe that even if they aren't doing something overtly awful at this very second, that that isn't their goal.
    I always check with any new app or program I out on my machine. It's called due diligence. It's also common sense to run a malware scan regularly.

    An who are you to tell others what to do or arbitrate how things should work? Every company in existence is out to make money. They don't do these things for free or out of the goodness of their hearts. People need to stop looking for freebies and handouts.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Haerdalis View Post
    Not to mention that Overwolf is a data mining company - since their client is completely closed there is no way for the community to make sure their client doesn't pull in data it is not allowed to.

    It can log anything from your keystrokes to mouse movement to websites you visit and you have no way of knowing.
    I hate to break it to you, but all websites do that. Every site you go to takes your data. Your data has already been taken dozens of times over.
  1. Xath's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by FelPlague View Post
    1- unless you do something extremly obscene they do not perma ban, so sure mate
    2- yeah he said his ex knew people in overwolfs leadership positions who were being creeps + they are planning to secretly release NFTs, also they are illegally harvesting data secretly from their userbase.
    this is huge if he isnt lying out his ass, so we should get her story and do the same to overwolf that happened to riot and blizzard
    hit them with lawsuits out the ass for abusing their leadership positions and doing nothing about it. and hell i even said fine if he wants he can tell the story himself, just he needs to stop defending the abusers by refusing to name names. of course it is more believable if she tells the story, but the fact he has stories of illegal shit going on, and refuses to tell them is bad.
    although more so i was calling his bluff, cause the story screams bullshit, his ex worked there for a year, yet knows they secretly plan to work on NFT's and also that their leaderships are creeps, and that they illegally harvest data. 100% bullshit, and the fact he wont back any of it up with a concrete statement proves that, because he knows little to none of that is true, and if he actually made a statement on it he could meet legal trouble if it was false. pathetic. like hel iterally just thought of the 3 worst things that could come to his head "UHHHH nfts, uhhh stealing data illegally, uhhhh they are creeps!"




    still waiting for you to name names and stop defending the abusers, and the company as a whole.
    Most people would consider asking to dox an ex obscene
  1. FelPlague's Avatar
    i think its safe to say gaidax is a liar who made up shit about overwolf since he refuses to say anything concrete about it.
    you cant just say you have secret information that a company is illegally harvesting and selling data, abusing their leadership roles to be creeps, and is selling NFT's then back out when people ask for names.
  1. TheRevenantHero's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by FelPlague View Post
    i think its safe to say gaidax is a liar who made up shit about overwolf since he refuses to say anything concrete about it.
    you cant just say you have secret information that a company is illegally harvesting and selling data, abusing their leadership roles to be creeps, and is selling NFT's then back out when people ask for names.
    Oh man it's almost like giving out people's names is incredibly illegal and could result in a lawsuit if it's traced back to them. Just because he didn't give your information needed to doxx someone doesn't mean he's a liar. Holy shit.
  1. Toshirouu's Avatar
    Remember when addons were just some people who loved the game who volunteered their time to make improvements to the ui. Now as the game sees dwindling numbers, these groups of assholes, have decided that distributing add-ons is their income now. at the expense of us. This is all dumb. hundred percent. If you make addons, thank you. If you can't make addons, because you need money, then go get a fucking job coding, i guess we all miss out. Don't make something for people, say its free, then pan handle for donations.
  1. User517849's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by FelPlague View Post
    "they call out people spreading lies, they are white knighting!"

    nah, its called being a basic fucking human who prefers correct information instead of made up bullshit.

    - - - Updated - - -



    so you are fine with Wag.io selling your data and shoving ads in your face?

    - - - Updated - - -



    i mean literally ALL of your complaints here are fixed by going into the settings and turning that stuff off. also idk how it "tries to make you install other things" to this day i have yet to run into that unless when i try to go to a game it has built in coverage for it asks if i want to install the intergration.

    - - - Updated - - -



    i mean it literally does? i can show you screenshots of the settings to prove this, but if you really think we are "paid shills" cause we know how to fucking click "settings" and then turn stuff off, idk man.

    maybe you should ask your grandpa for some computer advice, cause even the elderly seem better at navigating systems then you it seems.
    No, I'm not fine with the Wag.io change, either.

    You did get me curious enough, so I pulled wowup's repo and I don't see anything that looks like it's doing anything you said.

    The problem is you're so aggressively defending Overwolf compared to simply stating your opinion that it isn't spyware.
  1. FelPlague's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by User517849 View Post
    stating your opinion that it isn't spyware.
    if it is or is not spyware is not "opinion" its fact.

    if something is spyware or malware or a virus is not an "opinion"
  1. User517849's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by FelPlague View Post
    if it is or is not spyware is not "opinion" its fact.

    if something is spyware or malware or a virus is not an "opinion"
    “When you download our client and/or register, we collect Personal Data provided by you, such as your username, email address and profile picture. If you register through a third party log-in/ account registration service (such as Facebook, Gmail, etc.), we collect your basic profile information from such third-party log-in/account registration service and your profile picture.

    We also collect Personal Data when you use the Services, such as games you played, language preference, referring site, pages viewed and the order of those pages etc, or contact us with questions or complaints. When you visit our Site and/or use the Services, we automatically collect your IP address, operating system, connected device, hardware details and other information about your use of the Site and/or Services. We can receive aggregated data containing impressions, revenue, video stats, as well as confirmation of user completions.”

    The same privacy policy points out that the data could be shared with “business partners” (again, emphasis is ours):

    “We share the Personal Data we collect with our service providers and subcontractors who assist us in the operation of the Services and process the information on our behalf and under our instructions, as well as with our business partners and affiliates who may offer you products and services, based on your preferences (if you indicate your desire to receive these).”

    https://news.softpedia.com/news/over...s-528693.shtml

    What I meant by opinion is that might not bother you: trading your data for the service, but for a lot of people that does strike them, myself included, that Overwolf's products are spyware.
  1. Mardux's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by User517849 View Post
    “When you download our client and/or register, we collect Personal Data provided by you, such as your username, email address and profile picture. If you register through a third party log-in/ account registration service (such as Facebook, Gmail, etc.), we collect your basic profile information from such third-party log-in/account registration service and your profile picture.

    We also collect Personal Data when you use the Services, such as games you played, language preference, referring site, pages viewed and the order of those pages etc, or contact us with questions or complaints. When you visit our Site and/or use the Services, we automatically collect your IP address, operating system, connected device, hardware details and other information about your use of the Site and/or Services. We can receive aggregated data containing impressions, revenue, video stats, as well as confirmation of user completions.”

    The same privacy policy points out that the data could be shared with “business partners” (again, emphasis is ours):

    “We share the Personal Data we collect with our service providers and subcontractors who assist us in the operation of the Services and process the information on our behalf and under our instructions, as well as with our business partners and affiliates who may offer you products and services, based on your preferences (if you indicate your desire to receive these).”

    https://news.softpedia.com/news/over...s-528693.shtml

    What I meant by opinion is that might not bother you: trading your data for the service, but for a lot of people that does strike them, myself included, that Overwolf's products are spyware.
    It's kinda strange that FP doesn't have an issue with MMOC "collecting data" thats given freely, but at the same time uses MMOC to complain about another company "collecting data" that is given freely. But then again, that's not out of character at all.
  1. rrayy's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by User517849 View Post
    “When you download our client and/or register, we collect Personal Data provided by you, such as your username, email address and profile picture. If you register through a third party log-in/ account registration service (such as Facebook, Gmail, etc.), we collect your basic profile information from such third-party log-in/account registration service and your profile picture.

    We also collect Personal Data when you use the Services, such as games you played, language preference, referring site, pages viewed and the order of those pages etc, or contact us with questions or complaints. When you visit our Site and/or use the Services, we automatically collect your IP address, operating system, connected device, hardware details and other information about your use of the Site and/or Services. We can receive aggregated data containing impressions, revenue, video stats, as well as confirmation of user completions.”

    The same privacy policy points out that the data could be shared with “business partners” (again, emphasis is ours):

    “We share the Personal Data we collect with our service providers and subcontractors who assist us in the operation of the Services and process the information on our behalf and under our instructions, as well as with our business partners and affiliates who may offer you products and services, based on your preferences (if you indicate your desire to receive these).”

    https://news.softpedia.com/news/over...s-528693.shtml

    What I meant by opinion is that might not bother you: trading your data for the service, but for a lot of people that does strike them, myself included, that Overwolf's products are spyware.
    Every website you go to does that. Yet only Overwolf gets crapped on for it.
  1. Thes's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Djaye View Post
    never needed more than details and dbm, everything else is kiddie crap. l2p
    I thought the same for the longest time but you literally can't play the game anymore without addons like WA (at least in pvp) because if you don't react to a cooldown in the same global it's activated then you die during the next global (global as in GCD)...
  1. SoulSoBreezy's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by rrayy View Post
    Every website you go to does that. Yet only Overwolf gets crapped on for it.
    Even worse, that quote isn't even accurate. That's from a 2019 article. How about using their site as a source lol https://www.overwolf.com/legal/privacy

    1. Information we collect. When you interact with us through the Services, we receive and store certain information, such as operational information required to provide the Services, analytical information used to improve and customize the Services for you, and diagnostic information to improve the performance and stability of the Services. You can choose to opt out from most of these via Overwolf settings, except from operational information which is required to make Overwolf work. If you choose to create an Overwolf account, you will be requested to provide us with your email address, username, and your profile picture. Signing up is not mandatory, and you can use Overwolf without an account. When you visit our websites we collect analytical information through analytics tools to improve and customize the Services.

    Emphasis mine.
    I think it's extremely important to have good discussion for the sake of our privacy and the well being of creators who choose to monetize their work. But at least use good sources fellas.

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