FAF Modifications Vault Rules

[Morax]

As of right now, it has been over a month and not very much feedback has been provided other than from a few people. If by weekend's end nothing inspiring is stated, these rules will 100% stand ground.

[wodzu_93]

Just a quick comment on Functionality and Integrity:

Enforcement of rules 2) and 4) must take vault limits into consideration - right now vault system is very poor, having very limited amount of space for mod description (around 3 lines, no scrolling) and user reviews cannot be viewed in full when exceeding a single sentence and get deleted when mod author uploads new version. Mod API's mod load order is busted, so it cannot be relied upon in the current state.

[Morax]

Create a post on the "Mods & Tools" section of the message board and place the link in the description of the mod.

[Rowey]

Able to hide your own mod upload would be ncie like you can with maps

[Morax]

Able to hide your own mod upload would be ncie like you can with maps

That's a feature request, not a rule!

I agree it would be nice, but that doesn't really have much bearing on what is and what is not allowed.

[CSI]

I would argue on a point with these rules : that people who want to use content from another mod need the permission of the author.

This rule should be arranged so authors that are not active anymore don't make their mods die with them.
I suggest that authors choose whether or not people can use their content, somehow in the mod_info.lua. And in the case where the author is not active anymore (no mention in the mod_info), the mod content can be used freely (with the condition that the copyright stays his).

This is not encouraging modding to have such restrictive rules as yours. For my part I don't have time to produce a mod all by myself, I have no skill for 3D modeling and I'm not interested in it. We can agree on the fact than almost none of the unit pack mods (TM, Xtrem Wars, Orbital Wars, Wyvern, Deep Blue...) is good to play as is, that's why I want to compile bricks from different mods together to make one more interesting and balanced, basically adapted for real games. And after I was said that I will not be able to upload my packaging on the vault because of this rule, I gave up on it.

Is this want you are looking for ?

This is not stealing, because the authors still have the copyright of their original content.
I know that if I made content and gave it up, I would be glad that someone takes my work to improve it and make it live.

[Morax]

Why are the modifications you listed not okay?

If a modification author is no longer present, you can discuss with the m&m team why your modification fixes it.

If you don't have time to create your own content, this does not give you the right to take others.

I 100% do not want people making claims their versions are more appropriate without some demonstration of this so its fact, not opinion.

[biass]

This is not stealing, because the authors still have the copyright of their original content.

I will now explain how the content rights work on FAF to you in an attempt to stop the 4 or 5 different people per day who do not have a clue about intellectual property.

When you upload a Map or Mod to the FAF vault, it is distributed to FAF under a private agreement. Not copyright, or any other arbitrary license. Argue about whatever you want to call this agreement later.

In short, under this agreement:
FAF obviously retains the right to distribute your content, alongside hiding or removing it at any time or for any reason.

YOU currently hold the right to hide the content, unrate the content, and upload modified files as a "version" that may replace said content.

Now, say I take your map, rename it, and reupload it. It honestly doesn't matter for shit that I put your username in the description or whatever: you no longer have the aforementioned rights to your content, and I do.

FAF holds the power to obtain the same rights as the author for the purposes of maintenance after a time period, that the author consented to before uploading. No author consented to having the rights of the work(s) given to other people at any time during the process. (currently)

Please read that again and understand it before you say something about copyright or whatever comes next.

Now, regarding your "modpack"

The "rules" are in place to prevent exactly this kind of work, the copy pasting of the works of other authors and thus obtaining the rights to them when you upload it. Besides the obvious vault clutter, this has caused multiple issues in the past wherein an author came back to faf to find his content stolen multiple times, and threatened to revoke FAF's permissions to his work unless the agreement was upheld.

You can do one of three things about this:
Obtain the explicit permissions of the authors of that which content you're using, in a way so that FAF can waive liability if an author deems your use of his content outside of the agreement.

Don't actually reupload the content to the vault, thus not entering the agreement and still being able to use the modpack in a custom game by yourself or anyone you distribute it to.

Help negotiate the "threshold of originality" that by which content is no longer deemed the work of another author. It needs to be decided upon eventually, but I doubt modpacks will get the all clear anyway.

If you clearly state you don't have the time nor the interest to pursue making mods in the first place, I don't see how the rules discourage that further, all they're discouraging you from doing is (as harsh as it sounds:) theft, which is what it is supposed to do.

[tatsu]

we could make all mods have to be present in the vault.

would that really be an issue? sure there would be a lot of uploads at first to finish the vault's collection to everyone's satisfaction but going forward that rule could help us for many things.