EQdkp OpenSource DKP
Copyright (C) 2002-2005 The EQdkp Project Team

Introduction:
-------------
    What is DKP?
    ------------
    DKP, short for Dragon Kill Points, is a concept originally created by Thott of Afterlife.
    These points are awarded to each guild member as they attend a guild raid. The current DKP
    of each member reflects his or her priority for loot. When a member 'wins' an item, they
    lose a DKP amount that reflects the value of that item.

    DKP allows for an unbiased comparison between guild members when decisions about loot are to
    be made based on attendance and recent items that have been awarded.

    What is EQdkp?
    --------------
    EQdkp is an OpenSource DKP system created out of necessity.  Many guilds wanted to use the
    point system but didn't have the means or time or will to create their own set of scripts
    for managing it. The main focus of EQdkp is to make loot distribution as easy as possible for
    guild leaders while still allowing it to be easy to maintain.

    EQdkp was originally created with the notion that one closed-source installation of it would
    support many guilds' point systems.  It was later changed to an OpenSource orientation so
    that it would much more customizable for each guild.

Contact:
--------
    Bug reports and feature requests should be directed to the SourceForge tracker:
    http://sourceforge.net/projects/eqdkp/

    Installation issues, general discussion - just about anything that's not a bug
    report or feature request can be directed to the forums:
    http://forums.eqdkp.com/

    If you're using EQdkp, we'd love to hear from you.  If you have a moment, post your site in
    the 'Examples' forum.

Donations:
----------

    If you and your guild use and enjoy EQdkp and want to see it continue to be developed, donating
    whatever money you can is a good way to show your appreciation for all of the work that's gone into the
    development and maintenance of the EQdkp project.

    Why do you need donations?
    --------------------------
    A lot of time went into creating EQdkp, and still goes into maintaining it by fixing bugs and adding requested
    features - in general, making it better.

    In addition to that, hosting fees for EQdkp.com need to be paid on a monthly basis, and donations would help greatly
    with that.

    If half of the guilds currently using EQdkp had around half of its members donate 50 cents one time, 
    that would probably cover the cost of the EQdkp.com server for one year. Additional money would go 
    to the developers of EQdkp for donating their time.

    For more information and for instructions on how to donate, please see: http://eqdkp.com/?p=donate

Installation:
-------------
    See the INSTALL file for detailed information.

Licensing:
----------
    EQdkp is distributed under the GPL.  Please read through the files COPYING and LICENSE
    for more information.

Credits:
--------
    DKP Concept: Thott of Afterlife [ www.afterlifeguild.org ]

    Developers:
        Rob Speicher [ tsigo@eqdkp.com ]
        Adam Wasserman [ draelon@eqdkp.com ]
	TJ [thundarr@gmail.com]

    Translators:
        If you fluently speak a language other than English and want to contribute a language
        pack, please contact tsigo@eqdkp.com
	
	Thanks to Taleth for doing some translation of the WoW information to German.
	http://forums.eqdkp.com/index.php?showtopic=1374
	
	Thanks to Esmeroth for the German SQL for races/classes for EQ2

    Thanks:
        SourceForge [ www.sourceforge.net ]

        Nathan Codding, Paul Owen and The phpBB Group [ www.phpbb.com ]
            - Template class, Session class foundation
        Chris Monson
            - XMLFile class (deprecated)
        Imex - Developer, EQCPS [ www.akanon.org ]
            - Item and Spell database (EQdkp plugin)
	Zeller, Ansar, and Landiin @ crusadersvalorous.org
	    - SOAP class definitions and assistance
	The Beta Test Crew @ forums.eqdkp.com
	    - countless bug fixes for the 1.3 release
	    - Loopi of Dark Ritual guild (Stormreaver guild, WoW) 

        Blood of the Spider Guild 
	   - [ www.drow.org ]

	Crusaders Valorous of Tholuxe Paells 
	   - [ www.crusadersvalorous.org]
	   - Ansar and Zeller for the SOAP help

        Necessary Evil Guild      
	   - [ www.wickedintentions.com ]

        Science of War Guild      
	   - [ www.scienceofwar.net ]
	 (now known as Precision Strike @ www.precisionstrike.com)



        Robert Brisson
            - 'What is DKP?'

        Everyone who reported bugs and posted feature requests at SF, and even discussed EQdkp in the forums.