Another question about property rights.

[That's Great Bob]

I've looked at the feedback section and etc, and found no answers that satisfied ME.

So, the wording on both the etiquette and universal rules is a bit frightening, and I'd just like to clear this up.

If I, Myself, and solely me, submit everything for a role play, from story, to character sheet, world, names, races, descriptions etc, and receive NO help from ANYONE here, do I maintain all rights to MY works, including all listed above and any characters that I, and I alone create for said role play?

Also, if I were to submit a list of my characters to the Archives section, do I maintain all rights and sole ownership of my characters and the content associated with them?

If I were to submit a story I've been writing, do I maintain sole ownership of it?

You can see why I'd be concerned, no one wants their works stolen and used by someone else, and I've never ran into a forum with wording as this.

Thanks.

[Tartra]

Which rules were you looking at that had that wording, Bob?

[Guest]

I think he meant these?

By becoming a member of FOG: Footsteps of Ghosts, you agree to our privacy policy. Our privacy policy is this: Any information here on FOG is the property of FOG, and any theft of such property will result in an immediate and permanent ban. Paraphrasing, which is the rewording or rephrasing of something, is also theft without acknowledgement. Just as you would have to in a written paper, if you paraphrase anything from FOG, you will need to give us credit for the original ideas themselves. We do not have any issues with our community being members of different message boards. We also are okay with it if you would like to create your own message board or are the administrator or moderator somewhere else (so long as the duties there do not keep you from your duties here). The real problem comes into play if ideas, images, aspects, and the like are taken from us here and used elsewhere.

I think what it is referring to is if you post something here and then later someone else posts it somewhere else without your permission.

• Role-Plays and Role-Play Posts Won't Be Deleted

If you are joining FOG or plan on continuing your stay here, be forewarned that once a thread is created, it will not be deleted. We may lock or move a thread, but we will never delete it, and at the very least will keep it within our archives (in our hidden Dust Bin forum). Your posts become property of the forum, and all collaborations belong not only to yourself, but all the others involved. Posting constitutes that you agree to not only display the post, but also that collaborations will not be taken down at the request of a single person, even if they are the original poster of the thread.
*Please note: This is not a legally binding agreement and it is not an attempt by the administration to claim ownership of your work. This is to inform you that we reserve the right to deny any request made by a single person to delete a collaboration. We can and will also use these posts to pursue action in the event of plagiarism.

[That's Great Bob]

Yes, those. I just wanted confirmation from an owner, that I still maintain ownership over my own original works.

[Tartra]

It says it's not legally binding (which it wasn't anyway), so you're certainly in the clear for that. It seems more like a very, very strong push to have you realize you're on a public board so other people will be able to see what you write. 'Don't plagiarize other people's work', but remember this is the internet and nothing is private. If it's a risk you don't want to take to any degree, I'd say not to add it, but we haven't had any problems with what's been shared so far and you're not likely to run into any on your end.

Rule of Thumb: if you could not stomach the idea of your work being passed around - even if would never be - don't put it online. That goes for anything. Meanwhile, you maintain your ownership, but we don't exactly have a legal team set to defend you if someone copies an idea.

Also: if it was only you who submitted it, yes, you can do what you want with it. By being a member of FoG and posting as one, you fall under the 'property of FoG' bit. The not-deleting-things-just-hiding-them principle is really geared towards the hefty number of collaborations going around where one might person might say, 'Get rid of it', and someone else says, 'I'm not done with that yet'. You can take back whatever you put up. But again, this is the internet and nothing's really deleted, either.

[Gadreille]

Tartra has worded it perfectly, I think.

[Kalon Ordona II]

The topic title highlights the point of confusion. It's not about property rights, as such. They are involved, yes, but that's not the focus of the guideline in question. The word "property" isn't meant in the legal sense of intellectual property. The forum didn't come up with your ideas, it just provided the area to display them. The proper understanding is that all posts within FOG's forum are on FOG's property, so to speak, and we're treating each as an indispensable part of FOG, as if each post is a plant in a garden or a limb on a tree. We're keeping the posts, not claiming your ideas. The focus is to let everyone know that we're not deleting anything on the forum.

Now, the reasons for never deleting the posts have to do not only with growing the forum but also with protecting the ideas of each contributor. That's where each member's property comes into it. Obviously one person could delete all their posts manually if they wanted to (though we ask that they not), but we wouldn't go along with, say, a request from one person to delete an entire topic in which other people have posted. The intention is to protect our members' rights, not undermine them.

To review, please again notice, first, that the title of this entry in forum etiquette is "Role-Plays and Role-Play Posts Won't Be Deleted," next, that the entry as evidenced by its location necessarily relates to etiquette and not to rules--that is, such entries are meant to clarify rules, offer general advice, or lend transparency to our methods for running the site--and finally, that the entry includes a footnote clarifying that in no way are the forum administrators attempting subtly to get you to relinquish rights on your intellectual property.

Hope that helps! Any further questions, do please ask.
Thanks everyone who contributed.

[That's Great Bob]

Thank you very much. That makes me feel much better and I understand it better now. Thank you everyone.

I'm working on my character for one of the role plays here, so, hopefully you'll see me round the IC section soon. Again, thanks!

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