Project:Open Modding Licenses/Articles

From Step Mods | Change The Game

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Section 1: Declaration[edit | edit source]

  1. All users who develops works utilizing assets from any work released under an Open Modding Agreement (OMA), and distributes it, then said users are bound by the terms of the OMA. Thus, the developed mod must also be released under an 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 an OMA that are planned for publishing.
    1. In such cases, 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 altered assets.
  2. Users not developing works and are, thus, only using OMA released works to enhance their 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[edit | edit source]

Sub-section 1 - 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 of their works to specific medium(s), such as a single website, but still allows open distribution on the chosen medium(s).
    1. Limited Distribution is allowed within the OMA terms. Works released with Limited Distribution are still considered "open" distribution of the mod.
    2. Limited Distribution is chosen at the 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 30 days.
        1. When such "reasonable time period" has expired, works are considered transferred to Open Distribution. Author consent is implied by releasing under an 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 24 hours, unless public notice is given as to the reason for the delay.

Sub-section 2 - General Terms of Distribution[edit | edit source]

  1. Mod downloads must be provided restrictions-free when hosted on personal websites. There can not be any ads to click past nor forum or site registrations required to download the mod.
    1. Adult content mods are an exception and must have a registration wall which checks for minors.
      1. Registration walls which consist of users entering their birth date to determine age is an acceptable minimum. Clicking an "Over 18" button is not an acceptable form of age verification.
  2. If an OMA mod is redistributed, then it must be redistributed with all assets intact including, but not limited to textures, meshes, scripts, readme, agreements, etc.
  3. If an OMA mod is broken up into multiple parts for downloading convenience, then the Readme and agreement must be included within each part.
  4. 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 users who are blocked via third party moderation teams.
      1. Such users may only be blocked after being warned and 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.
  5. Once a mod is distributed, it can not be pulled from distribution by any means, besides the following exceptions:
    1. A mod 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 mod may be pulled from distribution by the author if the mod is absorbed into its parent mod or into a mod collection.
  6. If a mod is pulled from distribution, the author has 30 days to re-upload the mod to a chosen medium.
    1. In the event the mod is not re-uploaded, the mod converts to Open Distribution and Open Modification.
      1. In this event, users who still have a copy of the mod are allowed to re-upload the mod to any chosen medium(s), following the OMA for Open Distribution and Open Modification.

Appendix[edit | edit source]

Distributed[edit | edit source]

Distributed refers to any public release of a mod 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, NexusMods, Steam, TES Alliance, etc.
Collaboration
Collaboration in this context refers to the sharing of mod files for the purposes of mod development or mod review.
Testing
Testing is this context refers to the sharing of mod files for the purposes of bug testing.

Section 3: Mod Assets[edit | edit source]

  1. For a mod to be released under an Open Modding Agreement, the entirely of the mod assets must be bound by the guidelines of the OMA.
    1. If the mod contains assets which are not available for open modding due to the files being from a non-OMA mod, or because their permissions do not allow for free and open modding due to being owned by another author who does not support open permissions for their files, then these assets much be released under Limited OMA due to the assets not being available for Open Distribution and/or Open Modification.
      1. Such assets must be clearly listed in the ReadMe file and the author must clearly state the assets are not contained within the scope of the OMA.
      2. Such assets may be distributed with an OMA mod, only if the author receives permission for distribution with their mod.
      3. Such assets must have credits, crediting the original author of the files.
  2. Mods with multiple authors have group-owned assets under an Open Modding Agreement.
    1. The entirety of the group is fully bound by the guidelines of this agreement for said mods.
    2. If any single group member does not agree to the OMA guidelines, with the following exception:
      1. If all assets created by the "nay" voting member are removed from the mod, then the mod can be released under OMA.

Section 4: Modification[edit | edit source]

  1. Open Modification - authors allow their mods to be modified at will without the need for obtaining permission.
  2. Limited Modification - refers to the original author maintaining artistic rights of their mod until said author retires the mod.
    1. Under Limited Modification, third-party modifications are submitted to the original author to be incorporated into the original mod or to be uploaded as optional files.
      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.
    2. Any mod that makes modifications to an original mod should be incorporated into the original mod, unless otherwise directed by the original author.
      1. Modifications which the author decides are best hosted separately will be uploaded by their original authors; not by the author of the parent mod.
    3. Once the author retires the original mod, the mod is converted to Open Modification and all future modifications should be incorporated into the original mod when possible.
    4. If the author is not active within 90 days neither on their mod page nor replies to any correspondence (e.g. PMs, emails, thread activity, etc), the mod is considered retired and converts to Open Modification.
      1. Retired mods 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 mod must be released with an Open Modding Agreement; else, the fork is not authorized.
        2. If the original author should return to the original mod, any forked mods only consisting of compatibility updates with the original mod's masters should be absorbed into the original mod with credit given to the authors of the forked mods for their support.
  3. 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 mod, fixes which result is better mod compatibility, etc.
    • Compatibility Patches - patches for compatibility between two separate mods, 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 mod and redrafting it to be more complete while sticking to the original author's intent for the mod.
      • Redrafting allows for some degree of necessary artistic and logic interpretations.
    • Extensions - adding new material which is consistent with the original mod and artistic direction.
    • Multi-pathing - adding content which allows users to take alternative paths from the original mod. Often this relates to quest mods with different choices or paths added which affects the outcome of the original mod (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 can not be done to the degree that it perverts the intent of the original mod.
    • Artistic Conflict Resolution - correcting artistic conflicts within the mod itself, between sister mods, or within extensions.
      • Artistic Destruction is NOT allowed. Artistic destruction is removing any element of a mod for the intent of changing the artistic direction of the mod.
      • Perversion is NOT allowed. Perversion is modifying a mod in such a way that the mod's intent is perverted from it's original intent. This is essentially vandalism of a mod. (e.g. altering a dialogue mod that adds "Dogs are nice" and changing it to "Dogs are stupid").
  4. Modification by patch or alternative replacement plugin is allowed.
    1. If the original author is still actively supporting the mod, any patches or replacement plugins should be offered to original author for incorporation into the original mod or hosted on the mod's distribution medium.
      1. Credit is to be given to the original author of the provided patch or replacement plugins.
  5. All modifications are to be detailed in the changelog, regardless of their source.

Appendix[edit | edit source]

Retired Mods[edit | edit source]

A mod can only be "retired" when released with Limited Modification. A mod is retired when the original author posts notification of their retiring the mod or if the conditions set in Section 4.2.4 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 plugin usually only amends the original with additions or corrections.

Section 5: 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 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: User Support[edit | edit source]

  1. Authors releasing with an OMA must provide fair and equal user support for the released mod.
  2. Authors licensed under Open Distribution and Open Modication are not bound by Section 7.1, 7.3, 7.5, 7.5.x, nor 7.5.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 official support.
    2. When support is no longer offered via the author nor via support help, the mod will be converted to Open Distribution and Open Modification, if originally Limited.
      1. The time period for conversion to Open Distribution and Open Modification, due to lack of support, is 90 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 being warned 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 mod. These users reply to bug posts and help users having issues with the OMA released mods. On Nexus, these users are most often added as team members under the "User permissions" section of the mod's attributes.

Section 6: 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 7: 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.