REGARDING PERMISSIONS

[Vector 1,034]

There seems to be a bit of confusion around this issue, and I was not aware about it at all. I should have maybe clarified it earlier, and I assumed wrongly what was clear to me... So I apologize for making these assumptions and I will clarify where I stand on this.

 

TL;DR

• The EULA is just something to allow me to defend my rights if I chose to, but I dont really care about it. The only situation in which I will enforce it is:
  • If you, in any way, shape or form, threathen me, my work or my health.
  • If you don't know what respect means.
• Anyone can do whatever they want, to the exception of changing scripts from the core mod (this goes for any and all of my mods).
• If the changes on scripts consist in bug fixing, I will try to include them on the mod itself, but I'm veemently opposed to have several versions of the mod floating around.
• If what you want to do is upload mods, originally made by other people (for example, refits) ask permission to the respective authors first.
• When in doubt... ask. You don't shoot first, and ask later. If I don't reply here at the site, try to hit me on Discord, I'm always there, or maybe ask @sh1ny or some other moderator about it.

 

CONTEXT (skip if you don't want to read the details...)

My problem was never with people using assets from SAM to create their own mods. My problem was that LadyMoiraine, ignored my requests, and even lied to fit her interests (which I have proof btw), and undermined me and my rights as SAM's author. I did not abandoned SAM and Hall of Torque by choice, it was a delicate situation, and while LadyMoiraine had no fault over what happened (and I never hold what happened against her, nor have I blamed her, nor anything of the sort), her selfish interests began to tear apart the trust I had in her, and finally pushed me out from her site and from my work.

Let me repeat that... LadyMoiraine literally bullied me into making a decision I did not wanted to or was ready to make, back in 2014, and that's why I quit! What she did, was no different than the lynching mob that recently started attacking the SKSE64 dev team! In fact, when I learned about what was happening with the SKSE thread on Nexus, I was not surprised at all.

After creating my site, in June 2016, we reached a deal, by my suggestion, which she agreed to, that included establishing an EULA (the annotations on the e-mails exist because they are part of a larger document that I will eventually, which explains what happened in excruciating detail):

Note: After a month, I found out that she partially breached the agreement in 2. , in 2 occasions, but I closed my eyes, and accepted it as a honest mistake.

As you can see, I was very open, and included her in the entire proccess, she agreed with the EULA and seemed to be very happy about it. I was hoping that, having a written agreement, would make her word worth something.

In September 2016, I found out that she had breached the EULA, when @roderik707 published a mod that altered SAM's code. I contacted @roderik707, to try to understand what happened, and he kindly shared the conversation with LadyMoiraine, and has authorized me to publish it if I needed:

When I read the exchange, I was even more disturbed, because Roderick specifically asked her if she was the one who could authorize any changes to SAM, and her reply was a simple, "sure go ahead!", as if she owned any rights other than publishing. Funny enough she didn't forget to mention that "as long as you keep on HoT" because that would serve her interests.

So let me resume...

• I had already my trust in her shattered, due to events that led me to abandon SAM and Hall of Torque, culminating in her throwing false accusations at me (@Hymnaru and @lxlhunter will be able to confirm this)
• LadyMoiraine harassing me, saying I had an obligation to keep developing SAM... No... I don't have any obligations at all, but apparently this is a problem within the modding community, since recently the SKSE dev team was targeted by the same type of entitled douchebaggery, where people seem to think that they are entitled over someone else's work.
• In January 2016 she ignored my request of removing Ixum's mod.
• In June 2016, when I got my site up (because she ignored my request) she made an absurdly entitled post and refused to remove my work from her site (before we reached an agreement). 
• During the June 2016 "negotiations" she lied to me about the request I made her, by stating that she never got the e-mail. This was a blatant lie, since in the same e-mail she mentions something that was never talked at any other time.
• In July 2016 I found out that she breached our agreement... I let it go, and warned her.
• In September 2016, I found out that Ixum's mod was still available on Hall of Torque.
• In September 2016, I found out about @roderik707 mod.

My patience has limits, and LadyMoirine has crossed it.

So my problem is not at all about sharing, or with people creating their own mods or publishing them... My problem was, I was simply fedup about dealing with LadyMoiraine's entitlement over something that doesn't belong to her and transgressions she made about me as an Author and my rights.

I couldn't give a shit about the fucking EULA, but if people behave like she did (or worst), you better bet I'm going to use my rights! Regardless of that, I am completely within my rights, and if you don't like it, thats really your problem not mine. 

 

REGARDING PERMISSIONS (if you want to get right to the business and skip the shenanigans)

In this situation, if it was some mod refit or something, I could have closed my eyes to her transgression, over making these decisions (and I'm sure I have because I didn't bothered looking), but changing the code of a mod, brings issues that other mods don't:

• If there are several versions floating around, this will cause a problem of having different users having the same "mod" behaving differently. It would undermine bug diagnostics, and generate confusion. Thats why, in projects involving several people, usually something like GitHub or is used.
• SAM was not made by chance, it was carefully designed, and some "features" or "limitations" exist because thats how I want the mod to work, not because I don't know what or how to do it. As a designer... design is important to me.

Obviously these issues are irrelevant for armor or other mods. So what does that mean? It means that as long as you publish any mod that uses SAM assets (like the body mesh itself, either totally or partially, textures, etc), must be published here at vectorplexus.com. If the mod does not use any assets from SAM, it can be published anywhere you want. Mods like the one from @Felio or @Hymnaru can be publish wherever! Do I prefer if they are published here? Yes, if only to be able to have others that use SAM, to access mods made for SAM more easily, but I'm not opposed to have them published elsewhere, either exclusively or simultaneously!

You must also consider that in case you are doing a refit from an armor by ANOTHER author, you must ask their permission to do so, and specify that the mod will be hosted at vectorplexus.com. This is a fairly important information you should provide to the author, because our site will always revolve around male mods, which will cater mostly to gaymers, and they may not wish to have their work or name associated with the site, and we must respect that.

 

REGARDING @Afendor'S ARMORS (semi-drama, @Afendor, you should read this)

Now I also want to address another matter, which relates to @Afendor's Refits to SAM. Originally, on Hall of Torque, his refits were included in SAM's page, so when I uploaded SAM in here, I had two options:

• Don't include them, and I'm sure I would have backlash over it (as I did for even mods that weren't included with SAM).
• Include them to receive less backlash, and to provide a mod that I assume had some significant demand.

 

But I still got backlash anyway, because, from what I was told, people were pointing their finger at me, calling me an hypocrite for doing so, so I removed the mod, problem solved. If @Afendor (who btw I don't think I ever talked to, at least I don't recall his name), wishes to upload his own mod here, he's more than welcome to do so, I'm not going to...

I would also like to point out another thing, that @Feliowill be able to testify as true... When in September/October 2016 I decided to revoke LadyMoirarine's publishing rights, I asked @Felio  to serve as a mediator between us, also to warn her in advance. She was warned by @Felio with around 15 days in advance, of receiving the e-mail saying she had 30 days to remove SAM and any derivative content from her site, to see if she could keep her head cool and not freak out... pointless exercise, since she freaked out, and didn't read that she had 30 days.

We chatted a bit about the SAM mods that would no longer have the rights to be published on Hall of Torque, and I suggested @Felio that maybe we could in advance, contact all the affected mod authors, to let them know what was about to happen, to minimize problems. @Felio, decided against it (for a number of reasons that are not really relevant), and it was his right to do so, as a representative for Hall of Torque and LadyMoiraine's interests, and I supported his decision, and still do.

I don't know who took the decision to put @Afendor's mod together with SAM... LadyMoiraine, @Hymnaruor @Afendor, but I would have never accepted that, for 3 reasons:

• I have always encouraged other modders to publish their mods on their own, even if I was involved, so they can have a fair share in having the credits and spotlight.
• Believe it or not, I don't like every mod that other people do (shocking right???), so to avoid having to deal with the "I don't like your mod" issue, which leads to an awkward situation, I take this stance, for everyone! I don't think @Afendor's mod fits in this particular case of me not liking it, but thats why I don't want to have anyone else's work on my mod, otherwise I would need to justify why would I have accepted mod X and not Y. This way, I don't have any risk of offending anyone. It's diplomacy 101.
• Again, design... I planned and designed SAM to have modular armors, and while I know its not everyone's cup of tea, that's not how I want the mod... period! The modular armor is a step up on the revealing armors, which was a concept already present and included in SOS, and it was planned since the beginning, so it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone why I wouldn't want @Afendor's Refits along with SAM. This has nothing to do with the fact that I like or dislike @Afendor's work... Some people prefer vanilla, some people prefer strawberry...

 

SOME FINAL WORDS ON THIS MATTER (for those who think I'm "selfish" and an "unstable piece of shit" who is only worried about boosting my ego! Also, advised reading for @Afendor aswell)

If people still doubt about me and my conduct regarding my work, you can always ask:

• @aoki: When SOS Revealing Armors was released along with SOS, I did maybe about 90% of the work, and @aoki, helped me by doing those little simple tasks that could save me time to focus in doing actual refits, something that @aoki was less proficient with, yet I INSISTED, he published it has his own mod.
• @Al99: While I gave Mighty Beasts co-authorship to @Al99, he was in no way, shape or form involved in the mod development, he simple encouraged me to finish it and helped with the management of the mod page on Nexus.
• @Earrindo and someone else I don't recall the name: When I did the male spriggans and atronachs, they made a mod using the assets, and asked me for help, yet I never asked for authorship and I told them "just credit me for helping, but publish it as your own". I also helped @Earrindo on other occasions, like his Mage Armor mod.
• Finally I'll also add that if there is anyone that actually deserves credit for SAM's authorship, its FavoredSoul, me, and @b3lisario. Anyone else that might have been involved, had a negligeable work in it. Yet, their names were included.

If I was looking to boost my ego, I had plenty of opportunities to do so, yet I always declined them. So, I hope that, people understand a bit better where I stand on permissions.

When it came to finally removing it from Hall of Torque, me and @Felio tried to make the best out of a bad situation, and in the least antagonistic way for LadyMoiraine and for the community as a whole. My conscious is clean. I don't think I have ever been selfish or that I have ever been super-possessive about my work. All I want is respect, I don't think I'm asking too much...

I would like to invite any of the mentioned people on this thread to jump in, to offer their own perspective and testimony

PS - If anyone has questions regarding permissions, or about any of the people mentioned, feel free to do so... I would ask for people to refrain from comments revolving around the drama with either LadyMoiraine or even Ixum at this point though, those mentions were done just to offer some perspective.