Project:Open Modding Licenses/Articles: Difference between revisions

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=== Limited Distribution Expiration ===
=== Limited Distribution Expiration ===
# If the original author is not active within one hundred and eighty (180) days, neither on their work's main distribution medium nor via replies to any end user correspondence (e.g. PMs, emails, forum activity, etc), the author's work is considered retired and transitions to Open Distribution and Open Modification, with the following exception:
# If the original author is not active within one hundred and eighty (180) days, neither on their work's main distribution medium nor via replies to any end user correspondence (e.g. PMs, emails, forum activity, etc), the author's work is considered retired and transitions to Open Distribution, with the following exception:
## Any retired works released under the OMA with Limited Distribution to a specific medium chosen by the original author must be retained on the original chosen medium until which time the original medium is no longer available ''or'' the author expresses Open Distribution permissions.
## Any retired works released under the OMA with Limited Distribution to a specific medium chosen by the original author must be retained on the original chosen medium until which time the original medium is no longer available ''or'' the author expresses Open Distribution permissions.
# Retired works may be forked by the community for the purposes of continuing the original authors work, to keep the work updated for compatibility, and/or create other works from the original work.
# Retired works may be forked by the community for the purposes of continuing the original authors work, to keep the work updated for compatibility, and/or create other works from the original work.

Revision as of 22:42, December 19, 2018

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Section 1: Declaration[edit | edit source]

I (the creator of this work) will allow you (the end user) to alter and utilize my work in your works, if you agree that any work produced and distributed from the assets of my work will also be released under the Open Modding Agreement. If you do not agree to this term, then you may not alter or utilize my work in any or your works, which are published either publicly or privately. If you only produce works from my work that are never published, then you are not limited by this agreement – please enjoy my mod!

  1. All users who develop works utilizing assets from any work released under the Open Modding Agreement (OMA), and distributes it, are bound by the articles of the OMA. Thus, the developed mod must also be released under the Open Modding Agreement. If any users do not agree to the OMA, then these users are NOT granted permission to develop any works that utilize assets from a work released under the OMA, which are also planned for publishing.
    1. Users not agreeing with the Open Modding Agreement may ONLY use OMA released works for their own, personal purposes, as long as there is no distribution of OMA assets.
  2. Users not developing works and are, thus, only using OMA released works to enhance their personal game playing experience are not bound by the terms of the OMA and may freely use and enjoy the works within their game.

Section 2: Distribution of Works[edit | edit source]

Distribution Type[edit | edit source]

  1. Open Distribution - authors allow their works to be redistributed, at will, on all and any mediums.
  2. Limited Distribution - authors limit the distribution/redistribution of their works to specific mediums, such as a single website, but distribution on the chosen mediums is still open and at will.
    1. Limited Distribution is allowed within the OMA terms to allow authors control over chosen mediums. Works released with Limited Distribution are still considered "open" distribution of the works.
    2. Limited Distribution is chosen at the original author's discretion.
    3. Limited Distribution is converted to Open Distribution in the event the specified medium for the Limited Distribution is no longer available, and the original author does not provide new Limited Distribution within a reasonable time period.
      1. The "reasonable time period" for authors to select a new medium for Limited Distribution is to extend no longer than thirty (30) days from the time the original medium is no longer available.
        1. When such "reasonable time period" has expired, works are considered transitioned to Open Distribution. At thus time, Author consent is implied for Open Distribution and further works must be distributed under the OMA.
      2. Works hidden from public view for the purposes of updating is allowed and will not be considered as an "end of distribution" event.
        1. The time frame for hiding works from public view shall be no longer than twenty four (24) hours, unless public notice is given as to the reason for longer delays.

Limited Distribution Expiration[edit | edit source]

  1. If the original author is not active within one hundred and eighty (180) days, neither on their work's main distribution medium nor via replies to any end user correspondence (e.g. PMs, emails, forum activity, etc), the author's work is considered retired and transitions to Open Distribution, with the following exception:
    1. Any retired works released under the OMA with Limited Distribution to a specific medium chosen by the original author must be retained on the original chosen medium until which time the original medium is no longer available or the author expresses Open Distribution permissions.
  2. Retired works may be forked by the community for the purposes of continuing the original authors work, to keep the work updated for compatibility, and/or create other works from the original work.
    1. Forked works must be released under the original Open Modding Agreement; else, the fork is not authorized.
    2. If the original author should return to the original work, any forked works consisting of only compatibility patches/updates should be absorbed into the original work with credit given to the authors of the forked works for their support.

Distribution Permanency[edit | edit source]

  1. Once a work is distributed, it is permanent.
  2. Works can only be pulled from distribution within the following exceptions:
    1. A work may be pulled from distribution by the administration/owners of the distribution medium (e.g. Nexus moderators delete the mod for violation of their ToS.)
    2. A work may be pulled from distribution by the author, if the work is absorbed into a parent work or into a collection of works.
      1. If a work is pulled from distribution, the author has thirty (30) days to redistribute the work to a chosen medium.
        1. In the event the work is not redistributed with thirty (30) days, the work transitions to Open Distribution and Open Modification (see above and below).
        2. Once transitioned to Open Distribution, end users who have retained a copy of the work are allowed to redistribute said work to any chosen medium(s), following the OMA articles for Open Distribution and Open Modification.

General Terms of Distribution[edit | edit source]

  1. Downloads of works under the OMA must be provided "restrictions-free" when hosted on any website. There can not be any "ad click-through portals" nor "third-party logins/registrations" required to download the works.
  2. Adult content works must have a registration wall that specifically checks for minors/not-of-age visitors, and prevents them from downloading the adult content.
    1. Registration walls that consist of users manually entering their date of birth to determine age is an acceptable minimum. Clicking an "Over 18" button is not an acceptable form of age verification.
  3. If an OMA work is redistributed, then it must be redistributed with all assets intact including, but not limited to textures, meshes, scripts, readme, agreements, etc.
  4. If an OMA work is broken up into multiple parts for downloading convenience, then the OMA file must be included within each part.
  5. Authors are not allowed to block users from their distribution sources.
    1. Exception is given to users who's main intent is to "troll" and to users who are blocked via third-party moderation teams.
      1. Such users may only be blocked after receiving written warning, and only with sufficient evidence of trolling available for public review.
      2. Authors may not request third-party staff to block or remove users, unless said users are in violation of third-party rules and regulations.

Appendix[edit | edit source]

Distribution[edit | edit source]

Distribution refers to any public release of a work to any individual or group other than for the purposes of collaboration or testing. The mechanism of distribution does not matter. All forms of possible distribution are covered including, but not limited to, Bethesda.net, cloud share-links, e-mail attachments, Nexus Mods, Steam, TES Alliance, etc.
Collaboration
Collaboration in this context refers to the sharing of files for the purposes of development or review.
Testing
Testing is this context refers to the sharing of files for the purposes of bug testing/quality assurance.

Section 3: Assets[edit | edit source]

  1. For a work to be released under the Open Modding Agreement, the entirely of the work's assets must adhere to the articles of the OMA.
  2. If a work contains assets that are from works who's permissions do not allow for free and open use of its assets, then said work must be released as OMA-Limited, due to it containing assets not available for Open Distribution and/or Open Modification.
    1. Such included assets may be distributed within OMA works, only if the author receives permission to distribute said assets.
      1. If permission is granted, such included assets must be clearly listed within a ReadMe file, and the author must clearly state the assets are not contained within the scope of the OMA.
    2. Such included assets must have credits, crediting the original author of the assets used.
  3. Works with multiple authors have "group-owned" assets under the Open Modding Agreement.
    1. The entirety of the group/team is expected to fully adhere to the articles of the OMA for said works.
    2. If any single group member does not agree to the OMA articles, then the work may not be released under the OMA, with the following exception:
      1. If all assets created by the "nay" voting member are removed from the work, then the work can be released under the OMA by the remaining group members.

Section 4: Modification of Works[edit | edit source]

Modification Type[edit | edit source]

  1. Open Modification - authors allow their works to be modified, at will, without the need for obtaining prior permission.
  2. Limited Modification - the original author maintains artistic rights of their work until said works are retired.
  3. Under Limited Modification, all modifications of works are allow by any end user (third-party modifications).
    1. Third-party modifications which are considered extensions of the original work are to be submitted to the original author for consideration of incorporation into the original work, or uploaded as optional files on the original work's main medium of distribution.
      1. The original author must make due diligence to review all modifications submitted to them.
      2. The original author holds the decision making rights of whether submitted modifications are best incorporated or hosted separately.
      3. Under the OMA, no author has the right to refuse to allow a third-party works to be released, which is derived from the original work.
        1. If any author finds submitted third-party works disagreeable, the said works may be released and hosted separately by their respective authors.

Limited Modification Expiration[edit | edit source]

  1. If an author voluntarily retires the work, the work is converted to Open Modification and all future modifications should be incorporated into the original work when possible.
  2. If the author is not active within one hundred and eighty (180) days, neither on their work's main distribution page nor via replies to any correspondence (e.g. PMs, emails, thread activity, etc), the author's work is considered retired and transitions to Open Modification.
    1. Retired works may be forked by the community to continue the original authors work, to keep the mod updated for compatibility, and/or create other works.
      1. Forked works must be released under the Open Modding Agreement; else, the fork is not authorized.
      2. If the original author should return to the original work, any forked works consisting of only compatibility patches/updates should be absorbed into the original work with credit given to the authors of the forked works for their support.

General Terms of Distribution[edit | edit source]

  1. Any work that makes modifications to an original work should be incorporated into the original work, unless otherwise directed by the original author.
  2. Modifications that the author decides are best hosted separately as an individual work may uploaded by their original authors; not by the author of the parent work.
    1. Such works must be released under the OMA.

Modifications Defined[edit | edit source]

  1. Levels of modification include, but are not limited to:
    • Error Corrections - ITM and UDR removal, grammar and typo corrections, fixing errors which break the game or work, fixes which result in better mod compatibility, etc.
    • Compatibility Patches - patches for compatibility between two separate works, etc.
    • Standardization - dialogue standardization (e.g. "continue" to "Continue"), naming standardization (e.g. following a naming scheme), etc.
    • Re-drafting - taking what is an early draft of a work and redrafting it to be more complete, while sticking to the original author's intent for the work.
      • Redrafting allows for some degree of necessary artistic and logic interpretations.
    • Extensions - adding new material that is consistent with the original work and artistic direction.
    • Multi-pathing - adding content that allows users to take alternative paths from the original work's intent. Often this relates to quest related works within games with different choices or paths added, which affects the outcome of the original work (e.g. adding a different path for vampire players).
      • The original path is left intact and is not diminished in any way, but the user is given a chance to take a different path.
      • Multi-pathing to the degree that it perverts the intent of the original work is only allowed under Open Modification.
    • Artistic Conflict Resolution - correcting artistic conflicts within the work itself, between sister works, or within extensions.
    • Artistic Destruction is only allowed under Open Modification. Artistic destruction is removing any element of a work for the intent of changing the artistic direction of the work.
    • Perversion is only allowed under Open Modification. Perversion is modifying a work in such a way that the work's intent is perverted from it's original intent. This is essentially vandalism of a work. (e.g. altering a dialogue mod that adds "Dogs are nice"; changing it to "Dogs are stupid").
  2. Artistic Destruction and/or Perversion via patch or alternative replacement plugin is allowed under Limited Modification, as long as the original work is left intact.
    1. If the original author is still actively supporting the work, any patches or replacement plugins should be offered to original author for incorporation into the original work or hosted on the work's distribution medium.
      1. Credit is to be given to the original author of the provided patch or replacement plugins.
  3. All modifications are to be detailed within a changelog, regardless of their source.

Appendix[edit | edit source]

Retired Works[edit | edit source]

A work can only be "retired" when released with Limited Modification status. A work is retired when the original author posts notification of their retiring the work or if the conditions set in Section 4.2.4 under "Modification Type" are met.

Alternative Replacement Plugin[edit | edit source]

An Alternative Replacement Plugin is a plugin which replaces the original plugin (has the same name). These types of plugins usually only amend the original with additions or corrections.

Section 5: User Support[edit | edit source]

  1. Authors releasing under an OMA must provide fair and equal user support for the released works.
  2. Authors releasing under Open Distribution and Open Modication are not bound by Section 5.1, 5.3, 5.5, 5.5.x, nor 5.5.x.x.
  3. Support may be provided by way of, but not limited to, PMs, emails, chats, forum threads, etc.
  4. In the event particular users are not complying with support requests from the author, the author may, at their discretion, cease to provide support to said users until users comply with requests.
  5. In the event the author is not able to provide support the following must take place:
    1. The author may assign specific users as "support help".
      1. Any support helpers must be clearly defined within the support area so users will know they are considered official support.
    2. When support is no longer offered via the author nor via support help, the mod will be transferred to Open Distribution and Open Modification, if originally Limited.
      1. The time period for transference to Open Distribution and Open Modification, due to lack of support, is 180 days.
  6. Authors releasing with an OMA may not block users from their support mediums with the following exceptions:
    1. Exception is given to users who's main intent is to "troll" and to support mediums which users are blocked or removed via third-party moderation staff.
      1. "Trollers" may only be blocked after receiving written warning, and with sufficient evidence of trolling available for public review.
      2. Authors may not request third-party staff to block or remove users from support mediums unless said users are in violation of third-party rules and regulations.

Appendix[edit | edit source]

Support Help[edit | edit source]

Support Help refers to users which have be designated by the author to provide official support for the work. These users reply to bug posts and help users having issues with the OMA released works. On NexusMods, these users are most often added as team members under the "User permissions" section of the mod's management settings.

Section 6: The Changelog File[edit | edit source]

  1. OMA mods must be packaged with a changelog file. See example here.
  2. Changelog file may be either a text document or a HTML file. HTML is the preferred medium and a template has been provided.
  3. The changelog file must be a separate file. It can not be incorporated into any other files.
  4. Changes entered into the changelog must be documented such that others not familiar with the mod can easily view and understand the changes made.

Section 7: The ReadMe File[edit | edit source]

  1. OMA mods must be packaged with a ReadMe file. See example here.
  2. ReadMe file may be either a text document or a HTML file. HTML is the preferred medium and a template has been provided.
  3. The top of the ReadMe should have the standard header.
  4. If the mod is a modification of an existing mod or contains assets from other mods, give full authorial credits to the original authors of any work within a Credits section.
    1. Credits should be placed at the bottom of the Readme file.
    2. Credit listings start with the original author first and are followed by subsequent authors in alphabetical order (for fairness).
    3. If the mod contains non-OMA assets or components, clearly and precisely list all assets or components which are not released under the OMA, give the reason for them not being released under the OMA, and state or link to the the license for which these assets or components are released under, if available.

Section 8: Other[edit | edit source]

  1. The OMA only covers mods and utilities for the game/platform which the mod or utility was designed for (e.g., Skyrim mods only applies to the Skyrim game). Per the ZeniMax ToS, assets from one game can not be ported to another game.
  2. If the OMA is ever in conflict with the ZeniMax Terms of Service or the Creation Kit EULA, then those terms takes precedence in the areas of conflict.
  3. Authors releasing mods under the OMA may be "blacklisted" at any time if there is a breach of the these articles for the mods released under the OMA.
    1. Authors will be provided a 14 day grace period to comply to any notice of a breach before the author is blacklisted.
      1. Official notices may only be sent by one of the authorities listed in Section 7.
    2. This blacklist will be a publicly provided list of author's names stating the listed author breached the agreement in some manner. There is no legalities backing this list. It's simply a shame list.

Section 9: OMA Governing Authorities[edit | edit source]

Below are the governing authorities over the Open Modding Agreement:

  • Skyrim Total Enhancement Project (STEP) Administration Group
  • Skyrim Total Enhancement Project (STEP) STEP Staff Group

If you would like to be added to the list please contact one of the list authorities.