Where Do You Draw the line

Im kinda sick of the  garbage i read on other forum about peoples work , modifying, ripping , renaming , editing , changing , revising , re-posting , redistributing , fixing others work.

The point here is where do you draw the line between proper reuse and stealing.

Public betas

If you post your files online they are free game to redistribute unmodified,  if you post a beta version of your mod , and  the file links are still active then they are there for you to download. Thats fair. if they are alive after many years and never show any signs of public updates, they could even be considered abandoned projects. author seems to have no interest in continuing development)

if you post your files and the links are not alive, but the thread or website is active  dosn’t give a more up to date download , you can assume the last  download provided is the one they wish you to be using. if the auther has a more up to date version available but inst offering it it is there fault

Cache ripping

if you rip something from a cache file  usually the policy is personal use only , you shouldn’t generally re post cached files.But most servers don’t supply a proper website to download and there for usually  the server owner says   get the files from your cache if you want them , just keep them up to date so they don’t mismatch.

So where is the line here , can i download a map/mod  from the cache and use it on my server or is that stealing?  I am not taking without permission or discreditng the original source

repackaging

dissecting packages, another issue , You see a  cool mod  , public or private. it to huge to use e but . you only need one thing from the mod  and it includes source code, so you extract the mesh , and the code , and recompile it unchanged into another  smaller file? is that stealing as well? , your not changing any thing and all the authers work is kept intact and , can now be used more places.

how about importing assets from a retail game , it been done with utweapons , and a lot of other mods   like the psx beta the unreal beta’s , the xcom betas , postal , ut2004, is that stealing as well?  probably unless you rewrite all the code from scratch

renaming

you have a file  and there is a problem with it loading , ie  it has invalid characters in it or another  file is mismatching it. so you rename it,It this stealing ?  to some people  it is. , since you are apparently disrespecting someone else work  by making it usable.

                amendment:

yes i fully understandnd why it is impractical  to rename 200 files and repost duplicates to redirects to fix a sever limitation and i agree with the fact that you should seek a better redirect., thats not the only thing im talking about here. I have been screamed at for renaming maps users send to me after i fixed them etc.. take for example the booggy (_-_) map. It is technically disrespectful in reality.

I would also point out that renaming files in 227 dosnt require a redownload sometimes  since the file contents are identical.( probably will never work with redirects tho sadly)

, fixing files

you find something online or on a server and it is incompatible or broken somhow, so you fix it so it will work.  you just made it possibly to use in more places  and be more popular , but not everybody sees it that way.

You mirror or redistribute files  for a dead website as a a courtesy for users that need / want those files.   is this stealing? to some people  it is dispute that you even helping.

conclusion

Now  average this all together and you lose ever time no matter if your intentions are good.

I post alot of stuff here ,
many files that are not available online since the authors have abandon them or  there sites have died off or been shut down

i credit ever single author in every post i make.
That not good enought for you ?

whats more sad? ,
seeing mods disappear forever ,or that a few loser want to fight over some 14 year old game they don’t even play anymore.I just don’t get it .

maybe i will cull anything i don’t have explicit permission to host here, this being a blog where things are often re posted , that could prove difficult and  damaging to the website’s content. When i read things like this i question why im even here. I am here to help people locate content for a 14 yr old game that has less then 200 players remaining , with  1/3 of those players being developers of some sort.

I chuckled at Jacks comment ,

Once a person crosses that line too much and the dev community labels them as ‘someone that steals other’s work’ you’ll find doors begin to shut and help becomes quite hard to get.

Your labeled as a thief automatically because  the line between stealing and otherwise , doesn’t exist , because it been blown so far out of proportion by  someones  ego or eliteness. I don’t ask anybodies help here im a freelancer basically always was. I don’t want to worry about  people bitching about crediting them for some 2 liner someplace that i could have figured out myself in 30 seconds.

kniffe had 2 pages of credits ,  and i find that god awful absurd and never will i  allow that many people to contribute to a project , then each of those 21 people could claim i distributed there work  without there permission it a  nightmare. where 21  helpers need to agree on a license

It a 14 year old game , I dont see the point of chasing people down , its not like the authers are losing any money over it of anything , it all ego.

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