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WI-H01: Email BGG about commercial licensing

WI-H01: Email BGG about commercial licensing

Problem

The BoardGameGeek XML API terms are permissive for non-commercial use and require permission for commercial use. This project intends to earn eventually, so building sync code first and asking later would mean building something we might have to delete.

In scope

  • Email BGG describing the project honestly: a Letterboxd-style tracker, currently free, with an intention to monetise later.
  • Obtain a reply in writing.
  • Record the outcome as an ADR — a “no” is as much a decision as a “yes”.
  • Unblock or close WI-024 accordingly.

Out of scope

  • Any sync code. That is WI-024, and building it before the answer arrives is the specific thing this item exists to prevent.
  • Scraping BGG as a workaround. Explicitly forbidden by docs/standards/agent-boundaries.md — a source whose terms are unclear is a human decision, and working around a refusal is never one.

Definition of done

  • Email sent; date and recipient recorded on the issue.
  • Reply received in writing, and quoted or attached on the issue.
  • Outcome recorded as an ADR, whichever way it went.
  • WI-024 either moved to status:ready or closed as won’t-do.

Verification

The written reply on the issue is the verification. There is nothing to run.

If BGG does not reply within a reasonable window, that is functionally a “no” — record it as such and close WI-024 rather than leaving this open indefinitely.

Notes

This is no longer urgent, and that is a deliberate change. docs/architecture.md §4 originally called this “the one that could sink the project”. Two decisions defused it:

  • ADR-0010 — the catalogue sits behind a CatalogueSource interface, so this blocks one implementation rather than seven build-order steps.
  • ADR-0016 — Wikidata is CC0, needs no permission, and cannot have its terms withdrawn.

If BGG says no, the project is unaffected. Ask anyway — a yes adds a richer source — but there is no reason to treat it as blocking.