Rules of the Mugen Community

[Kung Fu Man]

The MUGEN Community Silent Laws
(taken from BlackJack's post on the subject with edits)
-v 0.1.3b

Disclaimer : This is here to help everyone better understand why some things are the way they are in the MUGEN Community. In no case these so-called laws are meant to rule the whole community, but reflects what the majority is thinking. You are then free not to follow them, but be warned that you'll suffer from the hate of a significant part of said community, and possible expulsion.

Community Agreement 1 : you will not enforce part of the MUGEN license.

This extract from the license of MUGEN is deemed null and void :

Agreement to this license grants you the right to use the MUGEN environment (...), until and not beyond 12:01 AM (Greenwich Mean Time) on June 1, 2002. (...) If no new license is offered, all use of the (...) beta must cease.

The reason for this is simple: Elecbyte did so to enforce that users would upgrade to a newer version (which would be released at the time of said expiration date) as a means to update the license. Mugen is henseforth covered under the protections of abandonware.

Despite this expiration, it should be noted that there is not one set on the agreements and guidelines listed here, and they have been set in stone for many years. Failure to comply to any of the agreements will usually result in swift removal from the community.

Community Agreement 2 : Mugen creations are considered fan art.
It is legal to take material under copyright and include it without permission in MUGEN creations, as long as profit isn't being made.
We call that fan-art : the owner of the original material recognize it as harmless to him, for several reasons.
In the case of sprites/sounds/etc. taken from a game :

   

• He's not being deprived of something (such as money).
     
  • He has been rewarded for his work by the company that employs him.
       
  • Most of all, his original work is prevented from any modification (for it is under copyright, on cartdridges, CD-ROMs, etc.).
    
    Community Agreement 3 : you will not take fan-art (nor other derivative work not under copyright) to include it in your MUGEN creation without permission, in the case you're going to publically release it.
    
    If you take sprites or coding you take time and dedication from the MUGEN developer. The MUGEN developers spent much time to rip sprites and learn coding, without being paid. They haven't the same protection as someone that would have his work under copyright. So when some random person edits his character/stage, or takes code/sprites without asking, then distributes it, he doesn't respect the work (which is the rip, the coding, the time spent, etc.) of the original Mugen developer.
    
    [spoiler]To respect the MUGEN developer, ask for permission first, even if you're using a small part of his work.
    
    You can release updates, patches, palettes, etc. for existing MUGEN creations, as long as you credit the original MUGEN developer, and that nothing from the original MUGEN developer's creation is included in the patch.
    
    Basically, here's the thinking behind those rules :
    
       
  • Companies ask for money, you pay for their game and you have the right to use it as you see fit for your own personal use.
       
  • Creators only ask for a permission request, a much cheaper method of gaining the right to use their material.
    
    Just remember one thing, when you release something:
    
       
  • You show respect to the original developer by buying his game.
       
  • You show respect to the MUGEN developer by asking his permission before releasing something where his work is involved.
    [/spoiler]
    
    Something to note: Some do not respect these rules, and would gladly do their own thing with the work you've done. In doing so, they in turn damage the community.
    
    Community Agreement 4 : you will not host someone else's creation without their permission
    
    Mugen code is legally copyright of the person who coded it, much like a FAQ is copyright it's original author and should not be rehosted on a site without consent. This overrides the fact that many mugen works utilize copyrighted material by the aforementioned fact that such characters, stages, etc are considered "fan art" and therefore the core of the item for mugen is the key factor here, that being the coding within. In a nutshell, hosting someone else's work on a site or free filesharing service is not only morally wrong, but very much illegal.
    
    
    
    And blah blah blah, who cares. I honestly forgot this was even still here.
    
    
    These rules are outdated and we don't really go by them. The general consensus is as follows:
    
    
    
    
    • Don't be a dick.
    • Give credit where credit is due. This is common fucking sense.
    • If you're caught red-handed NOT giving credit and you still deny it instead of apologizing, we have the right to ban you (for being a dick).
    • If you're caught whining without good cause, we have the right to ignore you (for being a dick).
    • Although asking permission isn't required, it's still a nice thing to do and the author will probably think better of you for it (for being considerate).
    
    Just keep one thing in mind: respect is everything.
    
    ~JZ