The client was working fine until last week, but this week, a couple days ago, it started crashing. I see that it tries to update itself, but fails. It would be nice if you would simply provide updated versions for download and not stealthily try to update the client behind our back, without changing the version number.

 Unhandled page fault on read access to 0x00000000 at address 0x56a25c (thread 0009), starting debugger...
Unhandled exception: page fault on read access to 0x00000000 in 32-bit code (0x0056a25c).
Register dump:
 CS:0073 SS:007b DS:007b ES:007b FS:0033 GS:003b
 EIP:0056a25c ESP:0032ea24 EBP:00167a60 EFLAGS:00210212(   - 00      - RIA1)
 EAX:00000000 EBX:00000000 ECX:00000000 EDX:0032ea54
 ESI:00d074e0 EDI:00d07640
Stack dump:
0x0032ea24:  ecc19ef9 00d072e8 00d074e0 00d07460
0x0032ea34:  00000003 00000000 00d07460 00000003
0x0032ea44:  00000000 00d074e0 00167a7c 00d07678
0x0032ea54:  00000000 00000000 00d07694 00000016
0x0032ea64:  00000017 00000000 0032ea88 007305db
0x0032ea74:  0000000a 004d8218 ecc19e51 0032eaa4
Backtrace:
=>0 0x0056a25c in curseclient (+0x16a25c) (0x00167a60)
  1 0x7d39fb60 OleObjectVtbl() in shdocvw (0x7d39fdc0)
  2 0x7d394450 WebBrowser_AddRef(iface=0x7d3943e0) [.../wine-1.1.20/dlls/shdocvw/webbrowser.c:141] in shdocvw (0x7d3952a0)
  3 0xe5898000 (0x4003b855)
  4 0x00000000 (0x00000000)
0x0056a25c: movl	0x0(%eax),%ecx
Modules:
Module	Address			Debug info	Name (104 modules)
PE	  400000-  a53000	Export          curseclient
ELF	7b800000-7b948000	Deferred        kernel32
  \-PE	7b820000-7b948000	\               kernel32
ELF	7bc00000-7bcb1000	Deferred        ntdll
  \-PE	7bc10000-7bcb1000	\               ntdll
ELF	7bf00000-7bf04000	Deferred        
ELF	7d36c000-7d3ac000	Dwarf           shdocvw
  \-PE	7d370000-7d3ac000	\               shdocvw
ELF	7d470000-7d484000	Deferred        msimg32
  \-PE	7d480000-7d484000	\               msimg32
ELF	7d4f5000-7d50a000	Deferred        midimap
  \-PE	7d500000-7d50a000	\               midimap
ELF	7d50a000-7d530000	Deferred        msacm32
  \-PE	7d510000-7d530000	\               msacm32
ELF	7dd31000-7dd90000	Deferred        libpulse.so.0
ELF	7dd93000-7dd9a000	Deferred        libnss_dns.so.2
ELF	7dd9a000-7ddb2000	Deferred        msacm32
  \-PE	7dda0000-7ddb2000	\               msacm32
ELF	7ddb2000-7ddbb000	Deferred        librt.so.1
ELF	7ddbb000-7de83000	Deferred        libasound.so.2
ELF	7de83000-7deba000	Deferred        winealsa
  \-PE	7de90000-7deba000	\               winealsa
ELF	7deba000-7debe000	Deferred        libgpg-error.so.0
ELF	7debe000-7df27000	Deferred        libgcrypt.so.11
ELF	7df27000-7df39000	Deferred        libtasn1.so.3
ELF	7df39000-7df42000	Deferred        libkrb5support.so.0
ELF	7df42000-7df66000	Deferred        libk5crypto.so.3
ELF	7df66000-7dff8000	Deferred        libkrb5.so.3
ELF	7dff8000-7e095000	Deferred        libgnutls.so.26
ELF	7e095000-7e0c0000	Deferred        libgssapi_krb5.so.2
ELF	7e0c0000-7e0f7000	Deferred        libcups.so.2
ELF	7e0fd000-7e100000	Deferred        libnss_mdns4_minimal.so.2
ELF	7e100000-7e106000	Deferred        libattr.so.1
ELF	7e106000-7e10d000	Deferred        libgdbm.so.3
ELF	7e10d000-7e112000	Deferred        libcap.so.2
ELF	7e112000-7e119000	Deferred        libasound_module_pcm_pulse.so
ELF	7e159000-7e18c000	Deferred        uxtheme
  \-PE	7e160000-7e18c000	\               uxtheme
ELF	7e18c000-7e195000	Deferred        libxcursor.so.1
ELF	7e195000-7e19a000	Deferred        libxfixes.so.3
ELF	7e19a000-7e19e000	Deferred        libxcomposite.so.1
ELF	7e19e000-7e1a6000	Deferred        libxrandr.so.2
ELF	7e1a6000-7e1b0000	Deferred        libxrender.so.1
ELF	7e1b0000-7e1b6000	Deferred        libxxf86vm.so.1
ELF	7e1b6000-7e1b9000	Deferred        libxinerama.so.1
ELF	7e1b9000-7e1da000	Deferred        imm32
  \-PE	7e1c0000-7e1da000	\               imm32
ELF	7e1da000-7e1df000	Deferred        libxdmcp.so.6
ELF	7e1df000-7e1f9000	Deferred        libxcb.so.1
ELF	7e1f9000-7e1fd000	Deferred        libxau.so.6
ELF	7e1fd000-7e202000	Deferred        libuuid.so.1
ELF	7e202000-7e2f1000	Deferred        libx11.so.6
ELF	7e2f1000-7e301000	Deferred        libxext.so.6
ELF	7e301000-7e319000	Deferred        libice.so.6
ELF	7e319000-7e322000	Deferred        libsm.so.6
ELF	7e324000-7e328000	Deferred        libkeyutils.so.1
ELF	7e328000-7e32c000	Deferred        libcom_err.so.2
ELF	7e344000-7e3e0000	Deferred        winex11
  \-PE	7e350000-7e3e0000	\               winex11
ELF	7e43d000-7e464000	Deferred        libexpat.so.1
ELF	7e464000-7e491000	Deferred        libfontconfig.so.1
ELF	7e491000-7e4a7000	Deferred        libz.so.1
ELF	7e4a7000-7e51e000	Deferred        libfreetype.so.6
ELF	7e51e000-7e534000	Deferred        libresolv.so.2
ELF	7e556000-7e575000	Deferred        iphlpapi
  \-PE	7e560000-7e575000	\               iphlpapi
ELF	7e575000-7e5a2000	Deferred        ws2_32
  \-PE	7e580000-7e5a2000	\               ws2_32
ELF	7e5a2000-7e635000	Deferred        winmm
  \-PE	7e5b0000-7e635000	\               winmm
ELF	7e635000-7e71c000	Deferred        oleaut32
  \-PE	7e650000-7e71c000	\               oleaut32
ELF	7e71c000-7e789000	Deferred        rpcrt4
  \-PE	7e730000-7e789000	\               rpcrt4
ELF	7e789000-7e882000	Deferred        ole32
  \-PE	7e7a0000-7e882000	\               ole32
ELF	7e882000-7e8b8000	Deferred        winspool
  \-PE	7e890000-7e8b8000	\               winspool
ELF	7e8b8000-7e916000	Deferred        shlwapi
  \-PE	7e8d0000-7e916000	\               shlwapi
ELF	7e916000-7eaa0000	Deferred        shell32
  \-PE	7e930000-7eaa0000	\               shell32
ELF	7eaa0000-7eb52000	Deferred        comdlg32
  \-PE	7eab0000-7eb52000	\               comdlg32
ELF	7eb52000-7ebf3000	Deferred        gdi32
  \-PE	7eb60000-7ebf3000	\               gdi32
ELF	7ebf3000-7ed3f000	Deferred        user32
  \-PE	7ec10000-7ed3f000	\               user32
ELF	7ed3f000-7ee08000	Deferred        comctl32
  \-PE	7ed50000-7ee08000	\               comctl32
ELF	7ee08000-7ee5e000	Deferred        advapi32
  \-PE	7ee10000-7ee5e000	\               advapi32
ELF	7ef88000-7ef94000	Deferred        libnss_files.so.2
ELF	7ef94000-7ef9f000	Deferred        libnss_nis.so.2
ELF	7ef9f000-7efb8000	Deferred        libnsl.so.1
ELF	7efb8000-7efde000	Deferred        libm.so.6
ELF	7efe5000-7f000000	Deferred        wsock32
  \-PE	7eff0000-7f000000	\               wsock32
ELF	b7ceb000-b7cef000	Deferred        libdl.so.2
ELF	b7cef000-b7e52000	Deferred        libc.so.6
ELF	b7e53000-b7e6c000	Deferred        libpthread.so.0
ELF	b7e85000-b7e8e000	Deferred        libnss_compat.so.2
ELF	b7e8e000-b7fc9000	Deferred        libwine.so.1
ELF	b7fcb000-b7fe9000	Deferred        ld-linux.so.2
Threads:
process  tid      prio (all id:s are in hex)
00000008 (D) ...\Program Files\Curse\CurseClient.exe
	00000021    0
	00000020   -2
	0000001f    0
	0000001e    0
	0000001d    0
	0000001c    0
	0000001b    0
	0000001a    0
	00000019    0
	00000018    0
	00000009    0 <==
0000000c 
	00000013    0
	00000012    0
	0000000e    0
	0000000d    0
0000000f 
	00000015    0
	00000014    0
	00000011    0
	00000010    0
00000016 
	00000017    0
Backtrace:
=>0 0x0056a25c in curseclient (+0x16a25c) (0x00167a60)
  1 0x7d39fb60 OleObjectVtbl() in shdocvw (0x7d39fdc0)
  2 0x7d394450 WebBrowser_AddRef(iface=0x7d3943e0) [.../wine-1.1.20/dlls/shdocvw/webbrowser.c:141] in shdocvw (0x7d3952a0)
  3 0xe5898000 (0x4003b855)
  4 0x00000000 (0x00000000)
Killed

im sorry but why are you trying to run windows software in linux , why not use a stable OS like windows 7 beta or the RC just released to play yor games, linux is nothing but a hobby OS and will never make it in the mainstream market.

@

did someone just say stable and windows in the same sentence? linux a hobby OS? somebody get me a sandwich... i can't take this guy on an empty stomach.

  Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaelten

 

aigarius, I've heard reports that it has to do with the standard version of the client, which tries to load a browser window and show an ad.

 

Sure looks that way. Why don't you just pass an URL to the application starter like all applications are supposed to do? That will open the URL in the users preferred browser and will not cause it to crash on an error in weirder configurations (such as virus-fearing people disabling IE or having some weird, new or old IE version).

the URL opener in CC i belive is handled by the wxWidgets part and it might not be behaving correctly.

However one solution to running CC under WINE is to get a premium account, it's got no ads, and thus no crash....

All hyperlinks that we have created in the Curse Client open in your default browser. However, in order to display dynamic web content (such as ads), we had to embed an instance of Internet Explorer (sadly...). Unfortunately, any links clicked in an IE instance are opened in IE. We're not happy about this either.

Considering people can opt out IE in Windows 7 retail, it might be the right time to change this :)

I ha'd the same issues. I'm using Gentoo Linux with 1.1.20 wine with gecko. I'm wondering why eg. the Blizzard Launcher and WoW Patches seem to have no problem with the gecko embedded browser but the CurseClient has to crash and not error out gracefully.

  Quote:

Originally Posted by scrimpy32

im sorry but why are you trying to run windows software in linux , why not use a stable OS like windows 7 beta or the RC just released to play yor games, linux is nothing but a hobby OS and will never make it in the mainstream market.

This is quite the troll - Not only does Linux control 80% of the server-market (I think that might satisfy the STABLE OS department), but Steve Ballmer himself has said that he is going to kill linux...why would Microsoft care about "killing" linux if it was "just a hobby OS" and "will never make it in the mainstream market" (which it already has done in the server market)

WoW runs fine under WINE - and developers who embed internet explorer into their applications should be shot.

same here -.- everything was smooth until a few days, but now no more updates possible :(

Simply using winetricks to install ie6 worked for me, give it a go.  Solved the problem for me, hope it works for you.

all I am saying is i use to run wow under wine or cedega in ubuntu and never got things to work as good as they can on a windows PC.

so time and time again problem after problem like you guys are having i went back to windows because it runs wow and curse stable.

and now i have no problems and run with 180FPS in dalaran and wintergrasp nvidia 285gtx

You're very funny, Linux is actually compatible with both Windows and Mac software and hardware. I almost thought you were joking when you mentioned Windows being stable, yet for some odd reason people have the need for virus protection when GNU-Linux has the reliability of not getting viruses to begin with. To prevent losing credibility in the future, you should probably be informed that Linux actually isn't an OS, it's a kernel which is used to make thousands of free open-source operating systems.

(Linux actually isn't an OS ) funny want to try and tell that to 99% of the world ?  and its your kernel thats the reason you will never see wow made native for linux because so many people can alter it and every distro has its own flavor how can any serious comp like blizz ever make a game when next time the kernel is updated it breaks wow ... trust me i know alot more then you think. and yes Linux is an OS please read before ever talking about  losing credibility http://www.linux.com/whatislinux/114354. and No world of warcraft is NOT in any way shape or form compatible with linux . Linux needs compatibility layer  software to trick the linux kernel into thinking its running in microsoft windows . i wont go any more into this because you can never win a linux battle because you guys / linux users will ever understand.

...................................................

Can I run my Windows programs under Linux?

If you're coming from a Windows background, and most people are, you might have some Windows programs that you really want to keep using even when you're using Linux. Windows programs will not run natively on Linux, but you can find a few solutions to run Windows apps under Linux or within a Linux session if you really need to do so.

Wine is one option for running Windows apps under Linux. Wine is an open source implementation of the Windows API for Linux and Unix operating systems. It's a compatibility layer for Windows apps, so that they can run unmodified on top of Linux. Another option is CodeWeavers CrossOver, which is based on Wine, but not entirely open source. CodeWeavers includes features not in Wine to make it easier to set up and run Windows programs under Linux.

Virtualization is another option for running your Windows applications under Linux. Virtualization software like VMware Server and VMware Workstation, Parallels, and Qemu will allow you to run a full instance of Windows under Linux -- so you can run almost any Windows program unmodified on top of Linux, within the Windows environment. (Some applications that require 3D support may not run under virtualization because virtual machines typically do not provide 3D graphics.)

Wow, you're a douche.  I run linux because I like not having the BSOD pop up on me every month like clockwork and having to wipe/reinstall winbloze.  Thanks, though, if you want to be a douche about it.  Personally, I've had alot of problems with both, but at least the ones with Linux are typically operator error, unlike Windows which seems to develop bugs with updates.  I can actually fix the problems in linux, whereas with Windows I have to wait for a service pack to come out to break more things for me.  And, nice try, I'm getting 80 fps on a Nvidia 8800M GTS 512MB Ram on a freakin' laptop so I really don't care.

Oh, by the way. 

Depending on the context, the word "Linux" describes a couple of things. Most accurately, the word "Linux" describes an operating system kernel -- that is, the low-level part of an operating system that does all the hard work of talking to the computer's hardware, managing memory and devices, and generally doing the grunt work. Unless you are an advanced user, or you run into some sort of hardware or software problem, you'll almost never interact or even need to think about the kernel itself.

Quoting:

http://www.linux.com/whatislinux/114354

And, if someone could please tell me if fix worked?

Can anyone confirm that installing the paid for client does work, rather than it "should" work. Currently I can't even install 3.0.4 , is the paid for version a seperate client or just the normal one you register with a key ?

I don't mind paying for it if its going to work.

Scrimpy: I don't think you are qualified to comment on the validity of Linux on the desktop given your previous self admitted lack of experience. My Mother could claim that Windows was unreliable and not ready for the mainstream if she installed it and the network card, sound card, and graphics card all failed to work after an install. She would be no more correct than you.

Karvec pretty much covered it, but to quote the website you referenced, 'the word "Linux" describes an operating system kernel.' Also, the kernal is actually the only part of the operating system that no one can alter but the owners of the kernel.

In response to the windows compatibility layer, yes it's true but very misleading. All that a compatibility layer is is a shell that streams code in it's original programming language(Linux uses many, including python, jave, and perl to name a few). Every working operating system has to do this in order to run, it's neither tricking the kernel nor the program. It would be illegal to have an OS 'trick' a program into running if that program is only licensed to preform on another OS. Microsoft's Internet Explorer, for example, will only run on windows and seeks for the genuine activation key until it will run.

WoW is compatible with Linux, and actually preforms better than on Windows using my computer. I triplebooted Fedora, Debian, and Vista, and on each of my Linux distros, the framerate increased by roughly 300%.

I hope this cleared up any misinformation you may have previously received. If you would like to learn more about GNU-Linux feel free to ask, perhaps we 'guys' will never understand why some people continue to underestimate the open-source community.

After curse wanted to charge for premium I switched to WUU. There is a version made for Linux distros written in python. It automatically updates your files and accesses all major addon DBs including curse and wowui.

wuu.vagabonds.info/

i tried installing ie6 using winetricks but still no luck, curseclient still keeps crashing after login :(

@scrimpy32: please stop your "windoze vs. linux troll flaming" here, thats definitly OFF TOPIC.

I was a matrix user and after reading that it doesn't respect people hard work i switched to curse immediately.

In the past curse was working with wine thanks to some people patching here and there, with version 3.0.4 curse developers embeded internet explorer in curse to show adds ( for pete's sake!!!!!). This mean that they destroyed on purpose the hard work of the linux community, even if they didn't do it on puprose it's clear that they consider us as important as a banana. On the other hand when you go to wowmatrix website you see a little penguin over there.

The question i ask myself is: is it worse to use wowmatrix that cosinders the linux users too but doesn't pay respect to addon developers or it's worse to use curse that breaks linux compatibility on purpose and doesn't give a s***  about linux and all the people that use it?

You can guess what most linux user answear will be. GG for breaking a perfectly working app!!!!!

  Quote:

Originally Posted by subbass

Can anyone confirm that installing the paid for client does work, rather than it "should" work. Currently I can't even install 3.0.4 , is the paid for version a seperate client or just the normal one you register with a key ?

I don't mind paying for it if its going to work.

Yes I'am able to run the CurseClient Premium under wine-1.1.20, x86.

It's actually the same Client you just have to login with the Premium Curse Account.

Some Problems persist with some wired NtLockFile if the Client tries to search for an update. You have to 'killall CurseClient.exe' then.

I have the normal version working perfectly now.

Karvec's solution of using winetricks to install ie6 was simple and effective. You can follow the directions on the WineHQ wiki at :

http://wiki.winehq.org/winetricks

But it boils down to two simple commands as follows:

First download the winetricks script from the authors site (kegel.com)with:

wget http://www.kegel.com/wine/winetricks

then use the next command to run the script and install IE6

sh winetricks ie6

Once thats grabbed the IE6 installer and done its thing the Curse Client worked fine.

Whether or not I do bother registering now is something I am going to reconsider, breaking an app for a not insigificant number of people (though it is a very small overall percentage) simply to show adverts does rise my hackles to the point I am not sure I feel like paying,  this morning I absolutely was about to pay and was happy to, as a way to  show my support of the site in general. As an alledged cheapskate, beardy, hippy, freetard linux user I actually donate to a lot of software projects.

  Quote:

Originally Posted by subbass

I have the normal version working perfectly now.

Karvec's solution of using winetricks to install ie6 was simple and effective. You can follow the directions on the WineHQ wiki at :

http://wiki.winehq.org/winetricks

But it boils down to two simple commands as follows:

First download the winetricks script from the authors site (kegel.com)with:

wget http://www.kegel.com/wine/winetricks

then use the next command to run the script and install IE6

sh winetricks ie6

Once thats grabbed the IE6 installer and done its thing the Curse Client worked fine.

Thanks a lot, I just wanted to confirm this solution as working perfectly.

It's not that we intentionally broke compatibility under wine.  However, we don't support or test on wine either.  I know that can be a frustration to the users who do play wow under wine and I apologize for that.   I am glad though that people found this solution.  After some more testing from you guys I'll be taking the info and making a sticky here for other wine users. 

I just installed Ubuntu 9.04 with wine.

I'm a premium user, and I ran "wine /windowspath/programfile/curseclient.exe" and everything went fine without any trick.

The curse client found the wow path itself and updated my addon without problem.

  Quote:

Originally Posted by subbass

I have the normal version working perfectly now.

Karvec's solution of using winetricks to install ie6 was simple and effective. You can follow the directions on the WineHQ wiki at :

http://wiki.winehq.org/winetricks

But it boils down to two simple commands as follows:

First download the winetricks script from the authors site (kegel.com)with:

wget http://www.kegel.com/wine/winetricks

then use the next command to run the script and install IE6

sh winetricks ie6

Once thats grabbed the IE6 installer and done its thing the Curse Client worked fine.

Just wanted to say thanks.  Those 2 commands you gave me worked perfect.  I had let curse sit there for awhile thinking it would need time, but it just never crashed or didn't anything.  Processes said it was a zombie.  Once I ran the sh winetricks ie6, bam curse was running fine.  Thanks again.

jau! it seems my ie6 installation was messed up, after doing a fresh install of ie6 the curseclient now works again :D

Hey, subass, thanks for breaking down my "use winetricks to install ie6"...  I should've done it myself, but I was feeling lazy.  Glad it's working with my fix.  Resubmitted to AppDB with Gold rating and fix.

Karvec: No, thank you for posting the solution in the first place, I take no credit at all ;)

Kaelten, I understand that you guys do not have a client for Linux. But you need to understand that many Linux users used WowMatrix mainly because it had a native Linux client, and things like this will only annoys those users.

And the workaround is just that, a workaround. I hope that you guys look and see if there is a bug in the client causing the crash, due to the lack of Internet Explorer, and find a solution. Seeing as there is a high chance that IE will not be a mandatory core part of Windows anymore, even Windows users may see this crash; and I bet you wouldn't ask those users to use IE just for your client, right?

IE8 is installed by default in Windows 7 RC and the Final as well with the option to remove if the end user wants to .

this wont change anything.

Im sorry

Being a Wine user, I have to say that installing IE6 just to get the Curse Client working is not an option for me. Sure it can be done as other people have shown here. However, I've read about problems people have had with installing IE on Wine. The results can be pretty bad. I'd prefer to avoid having to delete my .wine directory because IE hosed my Wine registry.

I was using WUU until I found out that the Curse Client wasn't all that evil. I would even put up with the popup advertisement if the client still worked. The Curse client was slick, and worked pretty well under Wine. Unfortunately I'm going to have to go back to WUU until the Curse client's design is modified to run on Wine. It won't surprise me if that never happens of course; Curse has already stated that they had to imbed an IE frame, which means MSHTML.DLL. Wine developers are probably going to have to fix their Gecko adaptation instead.

If you're still having trouble launching after installing IE6 through winetricks, try running via command line at the Curse directory (ie)

karvec@icecube:~$ pkill pulseaudio

karvec@icecube:~$ cd .wine/drive_c/Program\ Files/Curse/

karvec@icecube:~/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/Curse$ aoss wine CurseClient.exe

In other words, kill pulseaudio and then run aoss in front of wine.  I was having some problems myself, and I read this on this forums from http://wow.curse.com/forums/t/75439.aspx :) :)

Hope it works for everyone!!  Thanks all!

I've gotten a little further with WUU.  Requires wxPython.  Thanks for the tip.

Isn't WUU just like WM, leeching?

  Quote:

Originally Posted by divideoverflow

Being a Wine user, I have to say that installing IE6 just to get the Curse Client working is not an option for me. Sure it can be done as other people have shown here. However, I've read about problems people have had with installing IE on Wine. The results can be pretty bad. I'd prefer to avoid having to delete my .wine directory because IE hosed my Wine registry.

I was using WUU until I found out that the Curse Client wasn't all that evil. I would even put up with the popup advertisement if the client still worked. The Curse client was slick, and worked pretty well under Wine. Unfortunately I'm going to have to go back to WUU until the Curse client's design is modified to run on Wine. It won't surprise me if that never happens of course; Curse has already stated that they had to imbed an IE frame, which means MSHTML.DLL. Wine developers are probably going to have to fix their Gecko adaptation instead.

I haven't read anythng about problems with ie6 in current 1.x versions of wine.  I even ran ie6 just to verified it worked, and it surfs the internet.  Strange seeing that on linux.  And it's not going to get changed, us linux users are a small subset of users, and it works fine under wine, so does it matter?  Also, if you go premium it works without ie6 installed.  Your call, but WUU looks to me to be just like WM so far, leech of bandwidth.

I'm think it might be similar.  The general issue here is that addons have to be essentially GPL according to Blizzard's terms of service.  So now they are whacking update manager's for "leeching" what they release, because it doesn't have credits or redirects to the author, or isn't updated on time, or it's just too much bandwidth.  That's not very team. 

Perhaps the problem can be solved by blizzard hosting the addons, and allowing any manager to update from it.  If you can't find addons in the first place, what is the gain for the user, the addon author, or for WoW in the long term?  They need to solve this, because I can't spend what little free time I have tripping over author's ego's.

I think we can all agree that wow would suck without the addons.  Maybe Blizzard should, in their own self interest, give something back to the addon author's.  Giving credit where credit is due, and taking the bandwidth hit would be a big help for them and for WoW as a whole.  With whatever self-preservation WoW and the author's possess, they had better figure this out quick.  Messing around with pop-up's/broken clients and paying another monthly fee for a GPL'd addons that they don't even create is not my idea of fun.

"is that addons have to be essentially GPL according to Blizzard's terms of service. "

That is absolutely not what the ui policy says _at all_.

Addons must be a) free of charge, and b) readable.  That in no way implies that addons must be GPL or any other OSI compatible license.