Project:Open Modding Licenses/Articles

Article 1: Mod Assets

1. For a mod to be licensed under OML or OMLL, the entirely of the mod assets must be bound by the terms of said license.
   1. If the mod contains assets which are not OML nor OMLL or are owned by another author who is not OML or OMLL licensed, then the mod can not be licensed under OML nor OMLL due to the assets not being available for Open Distribution nor Open Modification.
2. If the mod contains assets which are not OML nor OMLL, then the mod may still be licensed under OML or OMLL upon the following condition(s):
   1. If the author receives permission to make the assets OML or OMLL, then the mod may then be licensed under either licenses.
      1. For such a mod to be licensed under OML or OMLL, the author of the unlicensed assets must agree to the terms of said license for those specific assets.
3. Group mods have group owned assets. To license a group mod, the entire team must agree to the license terms.
   1. The entire team is bound fully by the terms of this agreement for said mods.
   2. If any single team member does not agree to the OML terms, the mod can not be licensed under OML.
   3. If any single team member does not agree to the OMLL terms, the mod can not be licensed under OMLL.

Article 2: Distribution

1. Open Distribution means that mod authors allow their mods to be redistributed, at will, on the chosen medium(s).
2. Limited Open Distribution is allowed and will still be considered "open" distribution of the mod.
   1. Limited distribution is limiting the distribution of a mod to specific mediums such as a single website, but still allowing open distribution on the chosen medium(s).
   2. Limited distribution is the mod author's choice.
   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. Mods hidden from public view for the purposes of updating are allowed.
         1. The time frame for hiding a mod to update shall be no longer than 24 hours.
      2. A reasonable time period for choosing a new medium is not to extend longer than 30 days.
3. Mod downloads must be restrictions free when hosted on personal web sites. 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.
4. If an OML or OMLL mod is redistributed, then it must be redistributed with all files, readme, licenses, etc.
5. If an OML or OMLL mod is broken up multiple parts for downloading convenience, then the Readme and license must be included with each part.
6. OML and OMLL mods may be re-compressed into a different formats (e.g., rar to 7z).
7. Mods must be distributed and/or re-distributed with all of the required mod's assets for the to operate correctly. Partial distribution is not allowed.

Appendix

Published / Public Release

Published refers to any release of a mod to any individual or group other than for the purposes of collaboration or testing. The mechanism of publishing does not matter. All forms of possible publication or release 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.

Article 3: Modification

1. Open Modification means that mod authors allow their mods to be modified and redistributed at will.
2. Levels of modification include, but are not limited to:
   • Error Corrections - ITM and UDR removal, grammar and typo corrections, fix errors which break the game or mod, etc.
   • Compatibility Patches - fixes which result is better mod compatibility, patches for compatibility between two separate mods, etc.
   • Standardization - dialog 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.
     • 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 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.
   1. • 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 basically vandalism of a mod. (e.g. altering a dialogue mod that adds "Dogs are nice" and changing it to "Dogs are stupid").
3. Limited Open Modification refers to the original author maintaining artistic rights of their mod until said author retires the mod.
   1. Under Limited Open Modification, modifications are usually submitted to the original author to incorporate into the original mod below being uploaded as additional mods.
      1. The original author must make due diligence to review all modifications submitted to them.
      2. The original author holds the decision of whether submitted modifications are best incorporated or hosted separately.
   2. Any modifications mod to an original mod should be incorporated into said mod, unless otherwise directed by the original author.
   3. Once the original author retires said mod, the mod is converted to Open Modification and all future modifications should be incorporated into the original mod.
   4. If the original author is not active within 30 days of of any correspondence (e.g. PMs, emails, thread activity, etc), the mod is considered retired and converted to Open Modification.
4. Modification by patch or alternative replacement plugin is allowed.
   1. An alternative replacement plugin is necessary if the modifier wants to perform certain tasks. Replacement plugins also have the advantage of reducing the user's plugin count.
      1. If the original author is still actively supporting the mod, replacement plugins should be given to said author for incorporation.
   2. A patch plugin may be preferable if the original mod's plugin is large and/or likely to change often. This often simplifies support issues for the original author.

Appendix

Retired Mods

A mod can only be retired under Limited Open Modification. A mod is retired when the original author posts notification of their retiring the mod or if the conditions set in Article 2.3.4 are met.

Alternative Replacement Plugin

An Alternative Replacement Plugin is a plugin which replaces the original plugin. These types of plugin usually only amends the original with additions or corrections.

Article 4: Declaration

1. If the user produces a mod which uses any assets from an OML or OMLL licensed mod and distributes it, then the user is bound by the terms of the OML or OMLL, and the produced mod must be licensed under an Open Modding Limited License, at the very least. If the user doesn't agree to the terms then the user may not use any OML or OMLL mods, moreover, the user may not retain any sort of copy of an OML or OMLL mod on their hard disk, personal web site, cloud storage, or any other type of storage system, etc.

Article 5: Other

1. The OML and OMLL license only covers mods and utilities for only the game/platform which the mod was designed for (e.g., Skyrim mods only applies to Skryim).
2. If either license is in conflict with the Bethesda EULA, then the Bethesda EULA takes precedence in the areas of conflict.