SUGGESTION: Public use charter

[dooom]

Hey all,

 

Recent incidents has had me wondering if the mission building community should come together and create a VERY BASIC "public use charter". I am envisioning it as something that had some very simple principles about attribution and use values that we would all try to adhere to when making public missions. It would also serve as a humble reminder to the community whom draw upon missions. I am sure we all agree we want folks just to have fun but something like this may help mitigate uncomfortable situations in the future just a bit too...

 

How we could ever come into agreement on such an effort is beyond me at the moment but it might be worth an open discussion. Thoughts? Do you think an approach such as this would be excessive? I'd just hate to see great efforts begin to be password protected.

 

I am thinking something along the lines of:

 

AS A .MIZ USER I WILL:

 

1. Reference the ED forums or DCS User files as my first resource for community made missions.

 

2. Ask for permission to present missions to the public if they are not currently available in #1.

 

3. Provide clear attribution of authorship where permission is granted.

 

4. Not modify, rename or claim authorship of community made missions without consent.

 

AS A .MIZ AUTHOR I WILL:

 

1. Reference the ED forums or DCS User files as my first resource for community made scripts.

 

2. Ask for permission to present scripts to the public if they are not currently available in #1.

 

3. Provide clear attribution of script authorship where permission is granted.

 

4. Not modify, rename or claim authorship of scripts without consent.

[9.JG27 DavidRed]

+1 to all of this D0o0m, but i always thought that this is common sense anyway...unfortunately it seems that some people think that using an exploit to get hands on others missions equals=free for use for everybody.

 

my biggest hope at this point is that EDGE will change how tracks are recorded, or even better give servers the ability to disable trackrecording for clients on their server.cause i think as much as we discuss this here, and as much as people will agree here with you, there will be people who take advantage of such exploits as long as they are possible and just dont care.

[Wrecking Crew]

+1 for the idea, dooom.

 

I've gotten wrapped up in these discussions a few times, and was surprised and disappointed when some folks expressed the opinion that it is perfectly fine to *steal* someone else's work. That is what I think of it as -- stealing -- when a mission is taken w/o permission.

 

 

I do place this line at the end of my missions and hope that people will respect it:

"Please do not modify or publicly host this mission without written permission from Wrecking Crew."

[9.JG27 DavidRed]

+1 for the idea, dooom.

 

I've gotten wrapped up in these discussions a few times, and was surprised and disappointed when some folks expressed the opinion that it is perfectly fine to *steal* someone else's work. That is what I think of it as -- stealing -- when a mission is taken w/o permission.

 

 

I do place this line at the end of my missions and hope that people will respect it:

"Please do not modify or publicly host this mission without written permission from Wrecking Crew."

 

^^i never thought i have to, but i will add this line to my missions as well from now on.....well, if thats ok with you!? :)

[Wrecking Crew]

You have my written permission :)

 

 

And I will reference those who help me in my mission builds.

 

WC

[Yurgon]

That sounds like a good idea.

 

I haven't come across people taking my (2 published, so far) missions and passing them off as their own work, but I'd sure be angry if that happened.

 

I think that charter could be used to make everyone aware of what should be common ground in the first place just so there's no misunderstanding.

 

IMHO it's important to keep this 100% voluntary for mission authors, though. Not all authors will necessarily agree with the charter; some would like more constraints, others would like to allow people more freedom. As long as any author is free to apply the charter to his work, I think it's perfectly fine.

 

I have a question regarding the wording for authors: You specifically say "scripts" instead of "missions". Wouldn't it make sense to choose a broader term or a combination of terms like "scripts, missions and parts thereof"?

 

Personally, I think the Creative Commons licensing idea is a pretty cool thing. In its core, it's a very broad usage license that requires proper attribution and allows a couple of options that any creator can choose from (Non-Commercial, Share-Alike, No Derivative Works). I've applied this license to the missions I've published so far and I don't think there are any incompatibilities between DCS and Creative Commons.