Credits to Content Authors

[Newfoundking]

Our original policy was all released material in the form of downloadable materials must be credited, but an amendment is clearly needed now. 

 

Effective immediately, when displaying mods in progress, all content displayed must be credited appropriately. If there's a slew of vehicles in one picture, just a simple author's note of who contributed is enough. Detailed descriptions of content authors are for readmes. For individual unit showcases however, you are required to list all contributing authors. 

 

This means if you show off a couple units, whether it's the light work, a reskin, or maybe a brand new model you made, using someone else's accessories to make it shine, you gotta give credit. Think about how you'd feel if someone was showcasing your work as theirs. 

 

This has been becoming an issue for quite some time, and it's not fair to authors who work long and hard to have someone reskin their content and show it off as their own. 

 

Failure to comply will be dealt with on a case to case basis, and will result in a warning if necessary. 

 

FAQs

Does this apply to my private mod?

Any showcases, including unreleased mods are required to have the credits

 

I have a gameplay video with twenty units, do I have to list them all?

If it's not a showcase of an individual unit, save it for a readme. If it's a gameplay video, focusing mostly on a certain unit, it'd be cool to credit the contributors to that unit. Be creative about it.

 

Am I really going to be punished for forgetting a tag line?

First time, no. Just a reminder. But if you continue to post showcases without credits, or you have a history of content violations, then you'll be more likely to get a warning. 

 

Why do this all of the sudden?

Since the LA Mod went as a resource, the community has seen a series of reskin mods, no longer going under the "submods" category. This means that many of these mods will have little to no association with their original content contributors. As many people have began showcasing progress on a piece by piece basis, we as a community of content creators decided it was only fair to acknowledge those who contributed when you show it off. 

 

Why is Emergency-Planet being anti-modder? I'm just trying to learn!

We're not. In fact, we're here for something completely different. We want you to learn! Tell us who made what, and we'll get along great. This isn't a way for us to ban people easier, it's just a way for us to ensure our content creators get the recognition they deserve. 

[Lisa Rose]

I made this mistake earlier not on purpose... i wasn't trying to claim it as my own at all. But yeh the creators really do deserve credit for the work they do, without it most of these mods wouldn't even exist

[The Loot]

Frankly, this seems like something that will end up discouraging people when you go all out on harsh enforcement.

 

I might not do much, but I already feel less inclined.

[RealSnow]

So should someone receive a few minor warning for stealing someones hard work and claiming it their own?

[The Loot]

So should someone receive a few minor warning for stealing someones hard work and claiming it their own?

Unless someone directly says they made it, they aren't doing that. Spacing on author credits, especially for just a simple image, ain't the same.

 

If this had been directed solely at mods that are available for download, it'd be different. As it is, posting nothing more than one image without credits is punishable.

[itchboy]

So should someone receive a few minor warning for stealing someones hard work and claiming it their own?

Hell yes, but only in certain circumstances IMO.

 

All the moderators want is at least mentioning who made the model and what part of the work was done by you. Thats it. Take a look at the Kent(UK) Mod for examples on how to do it right.

 

Ive gone and re edited my LA vehicles topic just to fix the credits there.

[MikeyPI]

The point of this is ultimately to ensure that people are properly credited along the way for their efforts that others are permitted to use.  The rub lies in that many people (whether intentional or not) fail to mention who made what that they're using, which unfortunately leads to the misconception that they are responsible for the content.   The point of this is to ensure that people are aware of and know who is responsible for what in the content, so everyone gets their proper dues for the work. The alternative of such a move could be that the original content creators become so fed up with improper crediting and/or failure to credit them and ultimately terminate the availability of the content to be used.  How would you feel if you made something and others went around misrepresenting that they are responsible for it?

 

The thing people gotta do is look beyond themselves and realize that other people took the time to create what you're using to get a leg-up and most of them just want proper credit for their efforts, not your first born child.  I do not believe it to be an unreasonable request for such crediting and hopefully people can comply appropriately.

 

As NFK said we are exercising this process at our own discretion, some will receive verbal reminders about the credit if it seems accidental, whereas intentional misrepresentation obviously will lead to more severe actions.  We arent going to see a scene where you have 20 units responding and expect credits for everyone's content within that picture, that is simply unrealistic as expectations go.  When you're showing off a lone vehicle that you're adding to a mod, IMO it is not that difficult (or unreasonable) to put at the bottom the credits for the vehicle as to who did what with regards to it, not to mention it makes a "log" of your applicable credits which can come in handy before you release the mod since you'll have all the credits stowed on the topic.

[itchboy]

The point of this is ultimately to ensure that people are properly credited along the way for their efforts that others are permitted to use.  The rub lies in that many people (whether intentional or not) fail to mention who made what that they're using, which unfortunately leads to the misconception that they are responsible for the content.   The point of this is to ensure that people are aware of and know who is responsible for what in the content, so everyone gets their proper dues for the work. The alternative of such a move could be that the original content creators become so fed up with improper crediting and/or failure to credit them and ultimately terminate the availability of the content to be used.  How would you feel if you made something and others went around misrepresenting that they are responsible for it?

 

The thing people gotta do is look beyond themselves and realize that other people took the time to create what you're using to get a leg-up and most of them just want proper credit for their efforts, not your first born child.  I do not believe it to be an unreasonable request for such crediting and hopefully people can comply appropriately.

 

As NFK said we are exercising this process at our own discretion, some will receive verbal reminders about the credit if it seems accidental, whereas intentional misrepresentation obviously will lead to more severe actions.  We arent going to see a scene where you have 20 units responding and expect credits for everyone's content within that picture, that is simply unrealistic as expectations go.  When you're showing off a lone vehicle that you're adding to a mod, IMO it is not that difficult (or unreasonable) to put at the bottom the credits for the vehicle as to who did what with regards to it, not to mention it makes a "log" of your applicable credits which can come in handy before you release the mod since you'll have all the credits stowed on the topic.

As a content owner, I understand this.

 

I don't think its unreasonable either. You guys don't warn me when I post a family shot of my 30+ vehicles and ask me to credit each, but you guys do expect me to credit when I do individual vehicle showcases. Ive edited my LA mod topic quite a bit to include credit in as many of the showcases as I could. I may have missed a few, so I apologize in advance.

 

I certainly am fed up with the lack of credits. I at least try my part to correct others in their crediting mistakes. It has happened several times now that I've been credited accidentally for Nnico's CVPI and F350. It has also happened other times where my models get credited to other people. In this case, its accidental so nothing too big.

 

Other times, people often forget to credit in the excitement to show off their "new" stuff. I believe this is what the moderators are trying to crack down on. And it does give justice to the content creators that I see a lot in American mods, such as bama, me, cops, Nnico and the LA mod team themselves.

 

---

IMO, if you care about your mod (and not about the fame associated with having one), you would be proud of everything you've done and the work others put into their content so that you could use it for your own purposes. You would give these other authors the respect they deserve by at least giving them a mention of the part(s) they did.

[BeastyBill88]

Does this also apply to Private mod edits? Or is just for mods which are in progress/have been released?

[Newfoundking]

If you post a picture of something in a showcase form, such as a single unit, (or a couple) then you should credit the author. It's a little upsetting when I spend twelve hours on a unit, and see someone slap a reskin on it, showcasing it as their work. Now if you made a full reskin mod, and didn't release it, but did a gameplay video, I don't expect a full list of everyone. This is mostly just for showcases, when people are making it look like they contributed a lot more to it than they did. If you made a reskin, that's fine, and if you want to show it off, that's fine too, but if you're doing it, just be cool about it. Give credit where it's due. I know I'd be hurt if someone posted my unit saying "Look at my new Charger" when it's just a reskin on MY work. Just say something like "Here's my RNC skin on itchboy's charger." It's simple, doesn't take that long, and it's fair. 

 

EDIT:

I changed the first post to include a FAQ section, of questions I've answered here and around the forums (especially PMs, where you can't see them)

[BeastyBill88]

If you post a picture of something in a showcase form, such as a single unit, (or a couple) then you should credit the author. It's a little upsetting when I spend twelve hours on a unit, and see someone slap a reskin on it, showcasing it as their work. Now if you made a full reskin mod, and didn't release it, but did a gameplay video, I don't expect a full list of everyone. This is mostly just for showcases, when people are making it look like they contributed a lot more to it than they did. If you made a reskin, that's fine, and if you want to show it off, that's fine too, but if you're doing it, just be cool about it. Give credit where it's due. I know I'd be hurt if someone posted my unit saying "Look at my new Charger" when it's just a reskin on MY work. Just say something like "Here's my RNC skin on itchboy's charger." It's simple, doesn't take that long, and it's fair. 

 

EDIT:

I changed the first post to include a FAQ section, of questions I've answered here and around the forums (especially PMs, where you can't see them)

Thank you for your answer, I showcased vehicles/personnel/map edits in the London mod edit I have been working on. But I had also shown gameplay of the edits too. So I have gone through the posts with videos/pictures and updated them with the credits for the mod creators. If it needs more credits let me know who and I can add them as I don't really know what things belong to different modders.

[MikeyPI]

Thank you for your answer, I showcased vehicles/personnel/map edits in the London mod edit I have been working on. But I had also shown gameplay of the edits too. So I have gone through the posts with videos/pictures and updated them with the credits for the mod creators. If it needs more credits let me know who and I can add them as I don't really know what things belong to different modders.

The bolded part is ultimately what we're trying to make come to an end with this campaign.  The hope is that if everyone credits clearly and properly, it will be much easier to track down who is responsible for a work, thereby ensuring crediting is done properly...  When it comes to general game play it is unreasonable to expect you to credit every single person in a post for a 5 minute video, but it should be correct for a released modification.  We also feel it is not unreasonable to have the credits when "showcasing" a vehicle, structure, whatever...  Someone made it first, please just take the time to track down who it was that made it possible and just say "yeah here is my rework to make it XYZ thank you to  bob for the model, bill for the lightbar, and joe for the pushbumper, I am responsible for the new lighting and skin reworkings"

 

Something that simple goes a long way in giving credit where it's due, makes a log that anyone else who wants to use something can source to know 100% who made the stuff that is in your mod, and ultimately  ensures you get proper credit for what you did exactly as well.. It's a win all around with far less time invested to credit correctly than to have to make the content from the ground up.

 

Hopefully in time this will become second nature as it was in the past for people to credit things clearly which ultimately improves the whole community by making sure people know who's done what.

[BeastyBill88]

The bolded part is ultimately what we're trying to make come to an end with this campaign.  The hope is that if everyone credits clearly and properly, it will be much easier to track down who is responsible for a work, thereby ensuring crediting is done properly...  When it comes to general game play it is unreasonable to expect you to credit every single person in a post for a 5 minute video, but it should be correct for a released modification.  We also feel it is not unreasonable to have the credits when "showcasing" a vehicle, structure, whatever...  Someone made it first, please just take the time to track down who it was that made it possible and just say "yeah here is my rework to make it XYZ thank you to  bob for the model, bill for the lightbar, and joe for the pushbumper, I am responsible for the new lighting and skin reworkings"

 

Something that simple goes a long way in giving credit where it's due, makes a log that anyone else who wants to use something can source to know 100% who made the stuff that is in your mod, and ultimately  ensures you get proper credit for what you did exactly as well.. It's a win all around with far less time invested to credit correctly than to have to make the content from the ground up.

 

Hopefully in time this will become second nature as it was in the past for people to credit things clearly which ultimately improves the whole community by making sure people know who's done what.

True I mean it was a quick edit as I had not long been home from my night shift. I actually found a PDF file in the London mod which lists the names of all the different modders who contributed to it. Which is helpful. But I do understand that credit should be given where its due. Especially if its not your original work, I know that I wouldn't like it if someone claimed my work to be their own. Like you said hopefully adding the correct credits will come as second nature to new mods.

[Newfoundking]

I remember when we digest cracked down on readmes, people were pissy just the same as now, but now no one dare release a mod without a readme. When they do, there's no group of people fighting is taking it down, nor complaining that we made them credit.

It's new yes, and it's a little different but it's not too hard. honestly I'm not reviewing every topic now to watch their old posts, but it is nice to update em anyways