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Molly · 12-07-2004, 11:17 AM

the_logos Dec. 06 2004,04:58
Tyche;
Dec. 06 2004,22:22
That is a great explanation, Tyche, the best one I have seen so far.

I think you are wasting your breath trying to explain this to the_logos though. To understand the distinction - (and also to use the word ‘hypocricy’ in its right sense) - you need to be able to distinguish between ‘right and wrong’ or ‘ethical and unethical’ rather than just ‘legal and illegal’.

Judging from what I have seen of the_logos postings over the years, he lacks that ability.

For those that have it, and since the integrity of my mud has been questioned; here are the policies of my Mud, and my own line of thinking about the matter:

1. I don’t really see fan-fiction as very wrong, although we don’t exactly encourage our builders to do it. The Starwars zone that the_logos and Jazuela keep bringing up is one of the oldest in our game; it was written before I joined the staff even. But I really don’t have any problem keeping it, as long as the Lucas Company don’t approach us with a formal request. Then I would of course remove it immediately.

Comment: We did actually try to contact them about it several years ago, but never got any reply. I think many muds in a similar situation have done the same, and like us settled with the thought that the company in question probably doesn't mind very much, but won't formally give their consent, out of fear of setting an unwanted precedence.

2. If someone got 'inspired' by one of my zones, and even used small parts of it as the foundation for a 'spin off', I might be slightly annoyed if they did it without asking my permission. But I would also be a bit flattered, since it meant my work was good enough to get inspired by.
With my consent I'd be totally ok with it of course.

Comment: This happens pretty often in my mud. Builders get inspired by the work of each other, and make frequent allusions to alreday existing zones, sometimes reusing the mobs.
Since this helps us to create a coherent world, we encourage it.

3. If someone stole one of my zones - (or anybody's zone for that matter) - and ripped out the credits to pass it off as their own work, I would be furious of course, what builder wouldn't?

Comment: This has happened twice in our mud. In the first case a builder downloaded a zone from the net, replaced the credit with his own name and claimed it to be his own. In the other case a builder copied large parts of a zone in another mud he played from the screen and used them in a zone he was building. Luckily another of our builders played the same mud and caught on to the scam.

Both zones were imediately deleted, and both builders were kicked out.

4. If someone stole the entire mud, code and all, ripped off the credits, changed the name, and then claimed thait it was their work, I would most likely go ballistic, especially if they were also making money from the theft.

Comment: This is what Medievia did. And there is no 'maybe' about it, it is a very well documented case of code theft, even if they have been trying to cover their tracks ever since.

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For those who want to join in the MudFiction venture, here's the address to the webpage that has just been set up for the development:

12-07-2004, 11:17 AM	#150
Molly Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Sweden Home MUD: 4 Dimensions Posts: 574	the_logos Dec. 06 2004,04:58 Tyche; Dec. 06 2004,22:22 That is a great explanation, Tyche, the best one I have seen so far. I think you are wasting your breath trying to explain this to the_logos though. To understand the distinction - (and also to use the word ‘hypocricy’ in its right sense) - you need to be able to distinguish between ‘right and wrong’ or ‘ethical and unethical’ rather than just ‘legal and illegal’. Judging from what I have seen of the_logos postings over the years, he lacks that ability. For those that have it, and since the integrity of my mud has been questioned; here are the policies of my Mud, and my own line of thinking about the matter: 1. I don’t really see fan-fiction as very wrong, although we don’t exactly encourage our builders to do it. The Starwars zone that the_logos and Jazuela keep bringing up is one of the oldest in our game; it was written before I joined the staff even. But I really don’t have any problem keeping it, as long as the Lucas Company don’t approach us with a formal request. Then I would of course remove it immediately. Comment: We did actually try to contact them about it several years ago, but never got any reply. I think many muds in a similar situation have done the same, and like us settled with the thought that the company in question probably doesn't mind very much, but won't formally give their consent, out of fear of setting an unwanted precedence. 2. If someone got 'inspired' by one of my zones, and even used small parts of it as the foundation for a 'spin off', I might be slightly annoyed if they did it without asking my permission. But I would also be a bit flattered, since it meant my work was good enough to get inspired by. With my consent I'd be totally ok with it of course. Comment: This happens pretty often in my mud. Builders get inspired by the work of each other, and make frequent allusions to alreday existing zones, sometimes reusing the mobs. Since this helps us to create a coherent world, we encourage it. 3. If someone stole one of my zones - (or anybody's zone for that matter) - and ripped out the credits to pass it off as their own work, I would be furious of course, what builder wouldn't? Comment: This has happened twice in our mud. In the first case a builder downloaded a zone from the net, replaced the credit with his own name and claimed it to be his own. In the other case a builder copied large parts of a zone in another mud he played from the screen and used them in a zone he was building. Luckily another of our builders played the same mud and caught on to the scam. Both zones were imediately deleted, and both builders were kicked out. 4. If someone stole the entire mud, code and all, ripped off the credits, changed the name, and then claimed thait it was their work, I would most likely go ballistic, especially if they were also making money from the theft. Comment: This is what Medievia did. And there is no 'maybe' about it, it is a very well documented case of code theft, even if they have been trying to cover their tracks ever since. ------- For those who want to join in the MudFiction venture, here's the address to the webpage that has just been set up for the development: