How exactly do I add licenses correctly?

[Vigilante96]

I just want to make sure I'm not violating any forum rules or, even worse, copyright laws with my first addon thread. Heres a link, please tell me if I did it correctly...

Thanks

[stupid_chris]

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/87841-Add-on-Posting-Rules-Aug-21st-2014

You just need to specifiy what your license is in your forum post and in the download, and you did both. The only thing you usually need to be careful about is to not breach other people's licenses, and since you're only giving out a config, you aren't for sure.

[Sampa]

Just out of curiosity...in case I ever want to make my own mod for the forums, how DO I get a license for a mod?

[nightingale]

Just out of curiosity...in case I ever want to make my own mod for the forums, how DO I get a license for a mod?

If you're talking about "get a license for using/changing/forking a mod", then it's not a question of getting a license, but of making sure you stay within the restrictions defined by the license the modder has chosen. Note that asking permissions for some things even when they are allowed by the license (like forking a project) is generally good behaviour.

If you're talking about "getting a license for my own mod", then it's just a question of choosing the one that suits your needs/desires. See choosealicense.com for a good high level comparison of some of the common OSS licenses.

[Sampa]

I see, at this time, I have no plans for mods as none have popped out at me (at this time) and I have NO programing experience and very little modeling experience.

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I'm just asking in case this state changes

[Vigilante96]

So, for this particular mod (tweakscale), the license file that came with it literally said, and I quote, "do whatever the f*** you want". I am within bounds for my modified config file then?

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I see, at this time, I have no plans for mods as none have popped out at me (at this time) and I have NO programing experience and very little modeling experience.

If you came to me a year ago and asked about a config file, I'd have been utterly clueless lol. It really just takes practice to learn how the code for a certain game works. I started modifying cfgs on Flight Simulator X, and let me tell you, THAT was absolutely awful lol.

[Norpo]

So, for this particular mod (tweakscale), the license file that came with it literally said, and I quote, "do whatever the f*** you want". I am within bounds for my modified config file then?

DISCLAIMER: i'm not a lawyer, just a guy who made a part mod and didn't get attacked by the mods

I'm no expert, but I think you're in the clear.

I think to be absolutely sure you should specify in the license file in the .zip though, that it was made by you (Vigilante96)

And by the way, the WTFPL (Link obviously says what the F stands for. Fair warning, if you care about that.) is a perfectly legitimate license, if a little tounge-in-cheek, according to the license selection guide by Majiir. (Of course, it's really just another way of saying "it's in the public domain")

EDIT2: If you want an example, see my Titan Engine mod. All it really says is

-1 A short mention of:

Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

in the forum post

-2 In the KerbalStuff thing, it also says CC BY 4.0. (You're using Dropbox, so you're fine on this front, I think. KerbalStuff required I put a license.)

-3, And, in the license file in the actual folder, it says "This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. I made all the art assets, and config files. Kerbal Space Program is owned by Squad and I make no claim I am affiliated with them. Details here: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"

..Which actually reminds me, I didn't actually put my name in there. Oops.

Edited February 26, 2015 by Norpo

[nightingale]

So, for this particular mod (tweakscale), the license file that came with it literally said, and I quote, "do whatever the f*** you want". I am within bounds for my modified config file then?

Yup, the WTFPL is one of the most permissive licenses out there, so you certainly can modify the config without license issues.

Note though in terms of your specific mod's approach, you may want to try using Module Manager to modify the tweakscale configuration on the fly rather than directing your users to rename/change the file in the tweakscale directory. That way you won't have issues when users try to upgrade TS and reinstall the TS defaults. Also your approach *may* cause issues with CKAN - last I check if it tries to upgrade/uninstall a mod and files that were expected to be there are no longer there it will complain.

[hab136]

Just out of curiosity...in case I ever want to make my own mod for the forums, how DO I get a license for a mod?

http://choosealicense.com/

[stupid_chris]

I see, at this time, I have no plans for mods as none have popped out at me (at this time) and I have NO programing experience and very little modeling experience.

- - - Updated - - -

I'm just asking in case this state changes

You just choose one, you don't get one. It depends what you want people to do.

So, for this particular mod (tweakscale), the license file that came with it literally said, and I quote, "do whatever the f*** you want". I am within bounds for my modified config file then?

- - - Updated - - -

If you came to me a year ago and asked about a config file, I'd have been utterly clueless lol. It really just takes practice to learn how the code for a certain game works. I started modifying cfgs on Flight Simulator X, and let me tell you, THAT was absolutely awful lol.

Unless you took that config file from Tweakscale and modified a few things, you don't even need to look at the license from Tweakscale. You only do if you are using assets and material from Tweakscale. Writing a config file that interacts with it is not using the material. So you don't care.

Also my point of this was not just about knowing what you can do, but what you must do. Some licenses require you distribute modified materials with attribution, by mentioning the original author, by using the same license, etc.

[Streetwind]

The main thing about licenses you need to understand is that it sounds awfully lawyery and complicated and official, but it's actually not. It's not even something you apply for or "get" anywhere.

In absolute layman's terms: when you create original content, then you get to decide to what extent other people are allowed to use it. Because it's your work. The statement you make that describes what other people are allowed to do is simply called "license".

As such, it can be a freeform text written by you. It can stipulate that people named Bob are forbidden from ever producing a derivative work using your material, but people named Bill are allowed to do so if they post about in on the KSP forums on a Sunday afternoon between 6 PM and 7 PM eastern daylight savings time. It would be complete nonsense, sure, but it's your work, and therefore your right to license it in whatever darn way you want!

The reason why people often fall back on things like the Creative Commons license and other such things is because it allows them to just paste that in and not worry about creating their own terms and conditions. Also, should you ever create something that a lot of people actually care a lot about (and thus it has an implicit value that could be exploited), you want license terms that hold up under actual legal scrutiny. Of course KSP mods rarely venture into that realm, but if you do use one of those pre-made third party licenses, then you can be sure that they are legally sound. You are not required to pay or transfer rights to these third parties; they simply give you a template to follow. By choosing a CC license, you are effectively saying "I license my work under the exact same terms and conditions as you can find posted over there on that website". No more, no less.

The simplest form of a legally sound license, incidentally, is "all rights reserved". Putting these three words under your mod precludes anyone from doing anything with it without your express permission - even if you disappear from the internet forever. However, that also means that nobody can maintain your mod in your absence, which is why it's almost never chosen.