Posted by Nepenthe on August 09, 1999 at 11:14:31:
In Reply to: Re: The official text reads: posted by Nobody really on August 09, 1999 at 10:44:58:
You wrote: And as long as you're not selling an area (ie using it on a pay-to-play MUD) I don't really see what the problem is." The problem is that the original author of the work stated what they wanted done with it, and if you do something with it they didn't want done with it, you're not really respecting that work, or them. You may trivialize it, but real work goes into writing a decent area. Some of the old stock areas which have been/are gradually replaced excepted, I've never seen another MUD which had as high (in my opinion) a level of area quality as CF. I don't think anyone who has put forth the time and effort necessary to create something on at least the same magnitude would disrespect the artist/writer/creator's wishes. That there are people who don't understand that is a sad testament to the general lack of empathy in our society. You also wrote: I don't think you'd get away with citing a whole book without express written consent. Feel free to scan the next Stephen King or Robert Jordan hardcover, post them on the web, and tell me what happens, though. You also wrote: No, he's not going to be sued. Personally, I'm going to give Dioxide the benefit of the doubt, assume he's generally a decent human being and was in ignorance of the author's wishes. It's not like we have the resources or real desire to sue even if that were not the case, but legality and ethics are two very, very different things. Of course, you can repeat the Stephen King experiment with a public FTP site if you'd like. In conclusion, try to have a little consideration for the feelings of your fellow human beings. They'll probably like you better. I'm not steamed over any of this personally, but I'm sure I would be if I was the author.
"It seems pretty silly to me that an area written would be reserved for only one MUD, I mean, as long as you give credit where credit is due it's not really "stealing" it.
"It just seems to me that using an area from a MUD is kinda like using a paragraph from a book in an essay, as long as you cite it you're in the clear."
"Anyways, it's not like Dioxide is going to be sued, well, he could be but it wouldn't stand up in any real court of law seeing as how he downloaded it from a public FTP site."