Community-led development "The Apache Way"
This page answers most of the common queries that we receive as email about our Apache® projects' software and the Apache Software Foundation(ASF) as a non-profit organization.
PLEASE NOTE: If you send us email about something that is clearly covered by the information on this page, we will probably ignore your email. Please accept our apologies for such an impersonal response, but with several million users and not that many volunteers to respond to queries, we cannot provide personalised email support.
You unexpectedly see an Apache HTTP Server installation page when you visit a Web site.
You see an Apache HTTP Server installation message on your computer.
You think Apache has stolen or hijacked one of your favourite Web sites.
You have questions about Apache software and U.S. export control numbers (ECCNs).
You have questions about purchasing Apache software or obtaining support for it.
You have a community/codebase that you would like to bring to the ASF.
You have issues, bug reports, or patches for a particular project.
You unexpectedly see an Apache HTTP
Server installation page when you visit a Web site.
If you have sent us mail because you saw a page saying 'It Worked!' (or
something similar indicating that the Apache HTTP server has been installed) on your screen
when you visit a web site, go back and READ the page. It should
explain what is going on. The page is the equivalent of a demo or the
ReadMe file from a Windows application installation; it is intended for the
person who installed the software and is supposed to show that the
installation completed successfully. The problem you are experiencing
has nothing to do with us, and we cannot help you. You need to contact the
Webmaster for the site. If the site is www.foo.com, for instance, try
sending mail to webmaster@foo.com. If it's www.toddsbeer.org, send
mail to webmaster@toddsbeer.org. And so on.
Some older versions of the 'It Worked!' page (supplied with older versions of the software) don't say that, or are mysterious or ambiguous. What they should say, and what the recent versions say, is something like this!
It Worked! The Apache Web Server is installed on this Web Site!
---
If you can see this page, then the people who own this
domain have just installed the Apache Web server software
successfully. They now have to add content to this directory
and replace this placeholder page, or else point the server
at their real content.
---
If you are seeing this page instead of the site you expected,
please contact the administrator of the site involved. (Try
sending mail to <Webmaster@domain> Although this site is
running the Apache software it almost certainly has no other
connection to the Apache Group, so please do not send mail
about this site or its contents to the Apache authors. If you
do, your message will be ignored.
You see an Apache HTTP Server installation message on your own computer. If you think that the Apache HTTP Server software has somehow been installed on your PC or laptop, don't worry: IT HASN'T. The page you are seeing is from a remote Web site which has installed our software and which you have visited. See above for an explanation.
Your security software reported an intrusion. If you sent your message because your intrusion detection reported an attack on your system and you clicked on the name or IP address of the attacking system, please use the whois (if it reported a name) or the ARIN (if it reported an address) databases to locate the actual owner of the system. These databases are the authoritative ones for the Internet. See the links to them at the end of this page.
You think Apache has stolen or hijacked one of your favourite Web sites. If you think that Apache has somehow 'hijacked,' 'taken over,' or otherwise blocked access to a Web site, IT HASN'T. The people who actually run the Web site have installed or upgraded the Apache software which answers browser requests, and haven't completed the upgrade yet. See paragraph [1] above for suggestions on how to reach them for a status update.
You're tracing spam. If you have sent us mail because you think you have traced spam to a system that displays the 'It Worked!' page, or another page indicating that Apache is running on the system, the same advice applies: it is not our system; they are just using Web software we develop and distribute for free. The Web software has nothing to do with email or spam, it's just running on the same system. Apache has as much to do with email as Tetris does, and assuming we're responsible in any way for the spam is as reasonable as blaming Microsoft and Microsoft Excel because someone used Netscape to send you a nasty message. We are not and can not be responsible for their activity. See the last set of URLs below for Internet databases that will help you find out who actually owns the systems, domains, and/or IP addresses involved.
You have questions about the Apache license. If you have sent mail about a license issue or question, please review the online license at the URL listed below. The gist of the license is that you may use, modify, and [re]distribute the Apache software as-is. As long as you do not change the software, you may re-distribute it and call it "Apache." If you alter the software in any way, other than tailoring the configuration files or making it compilable on your platform, you may only refer to it as being based upon Apache. In all cases, altered or not, you must include attribution as described in section 3 of the license. If you have further questions, see our license FAQ. If that doesn't answer them, you may contact our Legal Affairs Committee.
You have questions about Apache software and U.S. export control numbers (ECCNs). Please consult our detailed information on the export control status of The Apache Software Foundation's products.
If a vendor is choosing to distribute ASF software, it is their
responsibility to get whatever licenses or other blessings they need for
their application. Consult your own IP/export attorney
for further advice.
You have questions about purchasing Apache software or obtaining support for it. All software produced by the Foundation is available for download, by anyone and for free, from our Web sites and mirrors. We do not sell it; we give it away. Neither do we provide formal or commercial support for any of our packages.
Also see the is it free and following sections in our license FAQ and our Apache software is free of cost page.
You have questions about other Apache projects. Use the project's website, or find it through the project directory to find the project's mailing list. Address technical questions to the appropriate project's mailing list, and not to any of the general e-mail addresses of the ASF.
You have a community/codebase that you would like to bring to the ASF. The Apache Incubator is where new community project proposals come to see if they could be a fit for Apache.
You have issues, bug reports, patches for a particular project. Each Apache project uses an issue tracker dedicated to their project. The best way is to go via that project's web pages. If you still have trouble finding it, try finding the project at projects.apache.org or by browsing issues.apache.org.
Domain ownership lookup/IP address tracing How to: Look up the owner of a domain(such as foo.com): http://www.networksolutions.com/cgi-bin/whois/whois > WHOIS database (tells you who owns a domain, such as foo.com).
You have a question about Apache trademarks, or you want to know if a use of an Apache trademark is related to the ASF You may read our formal Trademark Policy as an introduction. For any questions about the use of Apache marks, including logos and project or product names, or the Apache name or feather, contact the Brand Management Committee as well as to the relevant Project Management Committee.