AMAR | Content usage and sharing FAQ

[JdB 151]

Dear players, addonmakers, (game) server & website hosts and all others in our dedicated community,

Addon Makers for Authors' Rights (AMAR) is a sizeable group of content creators for games developed by Bohemia Interactive with a common interest in informing the community about the do's and don'ts of content usage and sharing to support mutual understanding and cooperation efforts. For this purpose we have created a website containing Frequently Asked Questions and useful information about ownership rights, permission requests, terms of use and other related matters that can help addonmakers to use already existing content with the permission of the original creator(s) to save time.

We hope that you will find this information useful to expand your knowledge and support your fellow community members. The website can be found at the following address:

http://amar.arma3.fr/

Alternatively:

http://amar.arma2.fr/

Kind regards,

AMAR

P.S. Thanks go out to tom_48_97 for help with the web design and hosting.

[pd3 25]

I cannot disagree with this initiative with the exception of modification without intent to distribute and publication of any secondhand editing.

It seems unnecessarily punitive to prevent individuals from modifying addons with full knowledge that distribution is prohibited. I understand the externalities as they relate to the online community need to be considered, as well as publication rights of the authors themselves, however if those modifications never see the light of day as it were, I see no problems.

[chortles 263]

More like such modifications-of-addons are essentially unprovable if they never see the light of day.

[PuFu 4600]

I cannot disagree with this initiative with the exception of modification without intent to distribute and publication of any secondhand editing.

It seems unnecessarily punitive to prevent individuals from modifying addons with full knowledge that distribution is prohibited. I understand the externalities as they relate to the online community need to be considered, as well as publication rights of the authors themselves, however if those modifications never see the light of day as it were, I see no problems.

I would call it common courtesy to ask the original creator permission to edit his work even if there are no plans to re-release or public the thing. in 99.9% of the cases the answer will be YES, go ahead.

[JdB 151]

I cannot disagree with this initiative with the exception of modification without intent to distribute and publication of any secondhand editing.

It seems unnecessarily punitive to prevent individuals from modifying addons with full knowledge that distribution is prohibited. I understand the externalities as they relate to the online community need to be considered, as well as publication rights of the authors themselves, however if those modifications never see the light of day as it were, I see no problems.

The idea behind the sections you describe is to address privately edited content for which permission has not been given and thereby tackle the issue of people posting screenshots and (Youtube) videos showing edited content and defending themselves by calling it "personal use" while the flaunting and showing off is anything but private but meant to get noticed for any number of possible reasons like making a name for themselves, promoting a (commercial) project, impress their squad, use it as a squad exclusive etc. Additionally quite often there will be a thinly veiled message like "PM for more info" really meaning -I can't post the download link in public so contact me privately-. There is nothing private about this kind of violation of ownership rights.

As Chortles points out an entirely private edit hurts no one and although it can technically be ruled out by an appropriate paragraph in the license agreement I don't think anyone would mind as long as it is restricted to the editor's own PC. Asking for permission is simple especially if you have no intention of distributing it as PuFu says, and the author might even be willing to help you better understand the technology and techniques behind the addon. The reason that most addonmakers who do not approve of private edits without being asked for permission are against it is because they will get feedback, bug reports, complaints, verbal abuse and all other sorts of comments not caused by anything they did, but by someone else's mistakes and the original author gets a bad name and a lot of lost hours to respond to all this because of this "private" editing.

You have to understand that most of the website is not about the starting addonmaker that just wants to learn from other people's work in fact for the learning addonmaker it is more of a support website with information on how to get things done as "Can't do this and that" is not the idea behind the website. It was initially created to help addonmakers that want to use other people's content. The "restrictive" parts are about the people who steal work, deny that someone owns the work he has done, sells it on model sites, creates mandatory (in the case of DayZ: if you want to have any chance of success) "donation packages" etc. The problems this causes are a very demotivating influence to many addonmakers that experience unauthorized edits and ports of their work.

Thanks R0adki11 for sticking the thread :)

Edited October 28, 2013 by JdB

[.kju 3245]

imo the emphasis is wrong and the importance of the license is not highlighted enough

however i will stop here as the addon police is strong here and other views are not tolerated..

[PuFu 4600]

;2545320']imo the emphasis is wrong and the importance of the license is not highlighted enough

however i will stop here as the addon police is strong here and other views are not tolerated..

i for one am actually interested in your views

[OrLoK 20]

Hello there

Interesting stuff.

I think there is a need to highlight the fact that just because its out there that its not good form to adapt other people's work without permission.

That said, if someone is going to be bloody minded and go ahead regardless, there's little to be done AFAIK.

Thing is, if one is in this community then there's a good chance that one knows its "good form" to seek permission. But what if one doesn't frequent here?

Interesting stuff though.

Rdgs

LoK

[chortles 263]

As Chortles points out an entirely private edit hurts no one and although it can technically be ruled out by an appropriate paragraph in the license agreement I don't think anyone would mind as long as it is restricted to the editor's own PC.

More like "if there's no screenshots, video, or files release outside of the local machine, then there's nothing but heresay to support claims of its existence". ;) I'll agree though re: "an entirely private edit", I guess that we're talking about the same thing...

[cifordayzserver 119]

;2545320']imo the emphasis is wrong and the importance of the license is not highlighted enough

however i will stop here as the addon police is strong here and other views are not tolerated..

Yeah I would love to hear more of your thoughts.

I for one would like to see the opposite side of the coin emphasized as well...

For example, my first step in joining the community was to start "Arma: Open Modders Group" in hopes of creating a forum badge or rank system etc, that would ensure that those who want their stuff to be used freely have a method of making that easy. My second step was to join AMAR, to show that our open thinking applied only to our own content, and that we would always respect the rights/wishes of other authors.

Both sides have their places, and any author's feelings on rights are valid and IMO should be respected within reason.

In regards to enforcement, I think that the simple step of having official distribution outlets discourage or remove disputed content is well within reason, and no further steps need to be taken. Banning here, or removal of conflicted content from the official forums (here and dayzmodforums) as well as Armaholic, and then get Play With Six, and DayZ Commander to get on board HOPEFULLY... and 90 percent of the problem is gone overnight.

If DayZ Commander and PWS would remove DayZ Mods that used un-approved content that would solve a large enough portion of the problem for it to stop being the source of so much drama and ire.

I think an official or community organized badge system or "at a glance rights" system for authors would be great though.

[chortles 263]

Ehh... the thing is, I actually like DayZCommander specifically for seeming to be outside of the orbit of the BI forums/Armaholic/PWS trifecta...

[pd3 25]

More like "if there's no screenshots, video, or files release outside of the local machine, then there's nothing but heresay to support claims of its existence". ;) I'll agree though re: "an entirely private edit", I guess that we're talking about the same thing...

Basically what I was pointing at, is the presumed right on behalf of the addonmaker to determine HOW the addon is used in an entirely private setting, which IMO seems exceedingly overbearing and punitive.

I'm not saying that's the reason or motivating factor for the majority, as I understand that the online component to this game series is significant, and it really is a sign of respect to the community and addonmakers if that part of it is respected for the sake of all players. I'm not disputing that at all.

However I have encountered a rare few addonmakers in the past who simply want eminent domain over how people "play" with an addon, even in private circumstances and I'll risk seeming inflammatory to insinuate that there's something wrong with that individual to be that overbearing about something that has no effect on them other than psychologically.

Personally, I don't play online, and the customizations I've made in the past are fundamental to the way I play the game, and often require changes be made to addons I've used to simply promote continuity of my personal experience. I would never re-release my changes as they are solely for my enjoyment, and IMO were pretty much necessary for me to actually enjoy the game. In some cases it honestly did mean all the difference between enjoying and not enjoying the game.

The most I've ever done was post a brief tut on a thread about Schapdrosel's mercenaries with regard to fixing an error generated when using two of his mercenary/special forces packs combined.

I provided visual accompaniments to guide the user on what the error looked like, and how to fix it, whether they actually made the changes was entirely the responsibility of the person who made use of the knowledge provided.

I did not provide, nor will I ever provide access personally modified addons.

I do agree that if the existence of modified addons is impossible to prove (as a result of them not being released) are and should be immaterial to the addonmaker and the community at large.

I believe that personal modifications for personal use still embody a fundamental cornerstone of the community that dates all the way back to the "old days". I personally believe the day that becomes frowned upon, is the day that the community has lost something that has truly separated itself from games of a similar nature.

Edited October 29, 2013 by Pd3

[JdB 151]

That's all very true. Only the excuse of "private use" edits being flaunted in plain sight was discussed, not edits made purely to suit personal taste without going public. I've now made that more clear.

Is editing an addon for personal use allowed?

By default editing and addon for personal or clan use is not allowed unless permission is given by the author except for content that will remain restricted to the editor's own PC. Showing off personal edits in screenshots and/or videos with or without an intention to release the edited addon is also not allowed. The main reason why these activities are not allowed is likely because the author does not want people to have unrealistic expectations of their addons, does not want to see the quality of their addon decline, is not looking forward to receiving complaints about poorly functioning addons that they did not release etc. Posting screenshots and/or videos is seen as taking credit for someone else's work, especially if the source of the content is not mentioned. If the editing is done purely to suit the taste of the person that is changing the addon no one will object to editing. Just beware that any private editing means that problems that may arise because of the editing are not the author's problem and likely means losing all means of support.

[pd3 25]

That's all very true. Only the excuse of "private use" edits being flaunted in plain sight was discussed, not edits made purely to suit personal taste without going public. I've now made that more clear.

The only reason I even did that was because of the personal annoyance experienced by the conflict in trying to use both of his great addons together.

Getting ahold of addonmakers sometimes is difficult, and I think making it known what needs to be changed in order to restore functionality straddles the line.

It would be one thing if an individual does a reskin or takes screenshots of addons units with obvious modifications. This was quite literally providing a tut on how to fix an error, with the hope that perhaps the author would realize that there are people out there who really wish to use both addons simultaneously without an annoying conflict.

Aside from that I understand and agree.

[VGD 10]

Hi everyone!

Now I am trying to contact the author(s) of Chernarus and Utes Maps. I asked BIStudio through the e-mail but have not received any response. Someone knows how I can contact the author(s) of these add-ons directly.

Thanks:D

[JdB 151]

Chernarus and Utes are the maps that come with ArmA2 so you need to contact BIS, not the BIS artists that created the islands. Maybe you have sent the e-mail to the wrong address, or they have not had time to respond yet.

[gammadust 12]

How did i miss this thread? All my support given, these efforts can only be for the better of a friendly community.

And without wanting to initiate the following discussion here, i really don't (pm me for such)! i am reticent of:

Can I sell addons or a mod that I made?

Selling addons or mods is not allowed unless you have acquired a license from BIS that says otherwise. All the content that is sold must be yours or you must compensate all those that share ownership of (parts of) the content. If no license is given by BIS than no money may be made from an addon or mod in any way. Restricting access to your addons unless a donation is made is not allowed either as BIS requires that all addons meant for anything other than personal use by the addonmaker must be made publicly available free of charge.

my emphasis

Does my exclusively notepad++ edited scripts fall into this conclusion, I believe it doesn't: after all many such mods never touched BI Tools to be bound to those licensing terms. I can't be categoric of course, but i am not pushing my interpretation around in a full blown website for all to see at the risk of passing as authoritative, i would expect in such case some clarification was seeked with Bohemia?

This criticism does not depreciate AMAR's efforts in any way. Please continue.

(AMAR is indicative of verb "to love" in my mother language)

Edited November 19, 2013 by gammadust

[VGD 10]

Maybe you have sent the e-mail to the wrong address ...

I have sent the e-mail to the https://store.bistudio.com/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=1&Itemid=50

Is there another address?

Edited November 19, 2013 by VGD

[Maio 293]

I have sent the e-mail to the https://store.bistudio.com/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=1&Itemid=50

Is there another address?

Hey,

That's the BIStore, no wonder they did not answer to you :)

I guess you can contact

marketing@bistudio.com

or ask Dwarden here on the forums.

[JdB 151]

How did i miss this thread? All my support given, these efforts can only be for the better of a friendly community.

And without wanting to initiate the following discussion here, i really don't (pm me for such)! i am reticent of:

my emphasis

Does my exclusively notepad++ edited scripts fall into this conclusion, I believe it doesn't: after all many such mods never touched BI Tools to be bound to those licensing terms. I can't be categoric of course, but i am not pushing my interpretation around in a full blown website for all to see at the risk of passing as authoritative, i would expect in such case some clarification was seeked with Bohemia?

This criticism does not depreciate AMAR's efforts in any way. Please continue.

(AMAR is indicative of verb "to love" in my mother language)

The scripts themselves may be sold if you wrote them all by yourself the same as with other content that has not been edited in tools made by BIS or using technology and/or content that they have a copyright on. Having said that I don't know to what extent the community tools designed to package and compress pbo files and the content in them (models, textures etc) are based on BIS' own code that makes their tools function. So even if "you" aren't using BIS' own tools does not necessarily mean that you aren't using their technology. Only BIS can clarify what the copyright/legal stance on that is and if they consider packaging and compression to be a part of the "ANY COMMERCIAL USE IS PROHIBITED WITHOUT PERMISSION" restriction. As those specific tools are included with the rest of their tools I would say that any pbo meant for a game by BIS is subject to those restrictions regardless of the content including scripts. Only the script made in notepad++ may be sold, as textures made in Photoshop and models in 3DS may be sold as well. Basically with content for BIS's games you own the visual/audible creation/code and idea for it (unless based on BIS' samples), but not always the means in which it is packaged.

https://community.bistudio.com/wiki/End_User_License_Agreement_for_BI%27s_Tools

Edited November 19, 2013 by JdB

[VGD 10]

It's a good idea that game developers indicate in the information for the game, who did exactly that, and links to the BI forums, where they can be contacted. It's easier to find them.

Official links at this location http://www.bistudio.com/english/company/contacts is not obvious to anyone who is looking for them.

[[ha]boris 49]

 

Hello!

After updating the forum, I can not log into the forum through the Explorer. I can not enter the e-mail address. Only Chrome.

Help.