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Although it doesn't mention areas, which are arguably very distinct from the documents.
The point I am making is that it is sometimes reasonable to "assume" permission is granted if there is sufficient precedent - unless you find out otherwise. It is not something I would recommend, but it's a far cry from what Vryce has done.
Right - but are we obliged to track him down? I'd say no - based on the evidence available, my personal view is that it's reasonable to assume we can use his area until such time as he informs us otherwise. I think it's fair to make this assumption based on the fact that the area is distributed with many Diku derivatives, and is in use by a lot of muds.
The point is that the same argument could be made about the Tolkien work. Like the areas, we do not know whether the copyright holders have given permission, but there is plenty of evidence to show that they do know many muds using their work. There is also sufficient precedent to show that they will not hesitate to take legal action against derivative work they object to - none of which have been muds.
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