Theoretical NPN submission template:

Aurora
1

In accordance with the removal of all of Aurora’s NPNs and the recent controversy regarding A1-0 I think we need a formal template regarding NPN submissions to ensure that nothing like this will happen again. If necessary this could be applied to both a future revival of A1-0 and extra-canon projects as well. Here is a baseline concept for such an agreement:

Name of NPN:
Type of project: [Singular Nation, Region of smaller nations, Region of roleplayer-controlled nations]
Plot(s) used: (list plot numbers if multiple; only ask for multiple plots if one plot absolutely cannot fit scope of project)

By accepting this agreement, I formally release my contributions to this NPN under creative commons licence CC BY-NC-SA. I realize that I will not be able to generally retract this content from the canon, even if my contributions to writing, artwork, or other content related to this NPN include up to 100% of all contributions. I realize that this NPN is community-owned, so other members may add their own contributions if such contributions are needed or deemed reasonable by the community. I also understand that as this NPN is a community project, I will not attempt to use this NPN to godmod against my fellow roleplayers or break any canon rules.

(mark with X)

Revision 1: (Separating Creative Commons licence from other agreements)

Revised template:

Name of NPN:
Type of project: [Singular Nation, Region of smaller nations, Region of roleplayer-controlled nations]
Plot(s) used: (list plot numbers if multiple; only ask for multiple plots if one plot absolutely cannot fit scope of project)

By accepting this agreement, I realize that I will not be able to generally retract this content from the canon, even if my contributions to writing, artwork, or other content related to this NPN include up to 100% of all contributions. I realize that this NPN is community-owned, so other members may add their own contributions if such contributions are needed or deemed reasonable by the community. I also understand that as this NPN is a community project, I will not attempt to use this NPN to godmod against my fellow roleplayers or break any canon rules.

(mark with x.)

I, the undersigned individual, hereby certify that the above named intellectual property is my original work and release it for usage by others under a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA license.

(Check box and add username): _______________________

5 Likes
2

This is a good suggestion and a good start, but I believe that it may be safer to keep the “legal” side and the roleplay rules side separate by changing the license release section to this:

The other parts of your suggestion, while also important to include in the NPN adoption agreement, are more related to roleplay moderation than legal/licensing matters; thus, I believe that they would be better placed in a separate section of the agreement just in case their inclusion in the actual license agreement somehow jeopardizes or voids it.

3 Likes
3

Added this as a revision in the above post.

2 Likes
4

I’m back with more suggestions:

  • it may be necessary to specify that the license is a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license specifically, so that should be added.

  • I’ve been thinking about how to satisfy the attribution requirement of the license that we’re using, and I came up with this template to post on threads and wiki pages pertaining to NPNs:

This [THREAD/PAGE] contains material pertaining to [NAME], a collaborative
project created by [NAME] and licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
This material is iterative in nature and has been adapted from its original
revision.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en

I think this is enough to satisfy the attribution requirements, but I’m not totally certain; be sure to look it over just in case. I’m particularly iffy on how to attribute multiple authors with a single template as people leave/join and the attribution requirements start nesting together, but I’m not sure how to solve that right now since afaik CC doesn’t have a license that has the share-alike but not the attribution requirement.

I’ve also been thinking about how to protect non-NPN critical canon information like calendar systems, basic foundational lore, etc. I currently think the best way to do this would be to mandate its release into the public domain, primarily because a) attribution for such widely used material would be a nightmare and b) it would prevent a license from unintentionally affecting other material like personal roleplays & roleplay nation lore that references it.

3 Likes