I have a timeline, as well. I think one could still inject virus weapons at several points. Also, possibly more than 320 fleets. Remember, Dulinor is building ships in secret. Potentially, for his former 3I fleets or extra fleets.
TNE Only: What if there was no Virus
- Thread starter Chuck Anumia
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I have a timeline, as well. I think one could still inject virus weapons at several points. Also, possibly more than 320 fleets. Remember, Dulinor is building ships in secret. Potentially, for his former 3I fleets or extra fleets.
Another downside is, I believe, that material from the articles cannot freely be used for background purposes.
Hans
FreeTrav
SOC-14 1K
Wha? Wherever did you get that idea? Or have I completely missed something in this thread that would correct an assumption that I've failed to make?
Once you start pulling out dice, books, character sheets, and so on, you-as-referee can use any damn thing you want as background. From any source, including your own fertile (or feeble, if you lean that way) imagination. Or FT. Or JTAS. Or even World of Greyhawk.
If you're publishing commercially, you can even refer to FT articles in discussing your background, or, under copyright law, even write your own material that says the same thing in different words (though you'd be well-advised to avoid even a nuisance suit that says "Hey, MY IDEA! Pay up!"), and make it part of your 'official-but-not-Third-Imperium' background.
Default assumption. I've asked about it before without getting an answer, but I can't find any statement in the magazine allowing people to use articles as background material, so as I understand it, anything that does is derivative and requires permission from the original author to use.
I'm talking about using it for writing Traveller material.
Are you sure about that?
Hans
Your joking right. Hans study up on US copyright law. We have a thread discussing licensing also. Unfortunately, Greg never appears in our mix these days. He's the guru. I wonder if he prefers another site.
- You can reference other documents. This is very common: Bibliographies.
- If they publish, you have RTU for personal use. It wouldn't be published if it were not the concept. For example, I had a friend with a cutting edge CT warship design in the early 80s. Marc asked if he wanted to publish it. He said no, it wouldn't win in GenCon battles if he did. Military secrets are fleeting at best.
- Replicating-type infringements are common copyright lawsuit. But referencing for add-on work is completely different.
- It's not for profit. If you're helping to sell someone elses product with add-on work it's a different ballgame. COTI and fansites are a perfect example.
FreeTrav, my alternative is 9 pages right now with a map. I'd have to do some serious cutting. On another note, i have other items I should consider fixing up for an article.
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Sorry, I expressed myself very poorly. In practice I've never played Traveller in anything other than the Golden Age setting and have never felt the need to go beyond it. I find it fine as is and not in need of change but of course you're right, the Rebellion and Virus are both part of the OTU.
FreeTrav
SOC-14 1K
Strictly speaking, yes, that's correct. However, if someone wants to make an issue of it, (a) the burden of proof is going to be on them, and it's not trivial, and (b) they open themselves up to a similar response from Marc and/or Mongoose and/or SJG and/or et cetera. There is a lot of wiggle room, though; calling a "book" of peers, precedence, and protocols "Rikarunasha's" would almost certainly be seen as problematical by the courts if I were to bring action - but call it something else, and you can point to such real-world publications as Burke's Peerage to evade any accusation of infringement from me.
Yes. Copyright protects only the expression of the idea, not the idea itself. The potential for problems comes when the idea in question is specific enough and "non-obvious" enough in context that a "reasonable person" would think that it's likely that there is a specific relationship between the accuser's idea and the accusee's work. Complicating it is the concept of "fair use", various tests to determine whether it's derivative vs another expression of a common trope, et cetera. In general, though, as long as the people involved aren't intending to be bad actors, I don't expect too many problems.
FreeTrav
SOC-14 1K
By all means - and don't necessarily think that nine pages is too large; I know I've printed articles that are longer. Worst case, I could break it up across two issues. You don't need to be excessively verbose, but neither do you need to worry about length to convey your idea properly - worrying about length is my job.
It would be trivial for anything I were to use. The whole point (as I see it) of using other people's setting material is to further the creation of a coherent background. If, say, someone writes up a small hamlet in the Gokzi Mountains on Regina1 with descriptions of the inhabitants and it just happens to be perfect for an adventure I have in mend, I'd want to use that hamlet, not cut, file off the serial numbers, and paste.
1 The Gokzi Mountains are a non-canon mountain range on a non-canon map of Imsu that I've created2. But everybody has my permission to use the name. 
2 Based on a map of Regina in World Builder's Handbook.
Rikarunasha's? You've lost me there.
But anyway, I don't want to get into accusations of copyright infringement or plagiarism at all. You remember the fuss Dragoner made when I used "his" Blue Darrians? I was at fault there, even if he did overreact to a ridiculous degree. Most unpleasant it was, and I don't want to repeat that experience ever again.
I would have said the same thing before my experience with Dragoner. To me it has always gone without saying that if you work in someone else's setting, he, and anyone else he permits to work in that setting, ought to be able to use your ideas freely. I've always been pleased myself when one of the official Traveller writers used any of my ideas. But I got a rude awakening and don't want to get involved in any more fuss. So I'd like to know that there won't be any before I spent time and effort on working with someone else's ideas -- even if legally I might be in the clear.
Hans
FreeTrav
SOC-14 1K
"Rikarunasha's" refers to this article at Freelance Traveller.
And I do fully understand the "once burned, twice shy" attitude, and also that many commercial houses won't touch fanac sites specifically to avoid 'getting into it' like you apparently did with the 'Blue Darrians'. That doesn't mean that you're not being overcautious, nor does it mean that you CAN'T use what gets printed in JTAS, or FT, or S&P, or here, or wherever in your own work.
Yes, asking the creator is a nice gesture. But it's not always necessary, and there are few occasions when I - or, based on past experience, most FT authors - will say "No".
Let me make it plain right now: Freelance Traveller defers to the author in all cases where permission is sought for use or reprint of material published on Freelance Traveller's website or in the downloadable PDFs. Further, where we have valid addresses to do so, we will happily forward email inquiries to the author.
And I do fully understand the "once burned, twice shy" attitude, and also that many commercial houses won't touch fanac sites specifically to avoid 'getting into it' like you apparently did with the 'Blue Darrians'. That doesn't mean that you're not being overcautious, nor does it mean that you CAN'T use what gets printed in JTAS, or FT, or S&P, or here, or wherever in your own work.
Yes, asking the creator is a nice gesture. But it's not always necessary, and there are few occasions when I - or, based on past experience, most FT authors - will say "No".
Let me make it plain right now: Freelance Traveller defers to the author in all cases where permission is sought for use or reprint of material published on Freelance Traveller's website or in the downloadable PDFs. Further, where we have valid addresses to do so, we will happily forward email inquiries to the author.
Ah, I see. I prefer Debart's Peerage & Baronetage myself.
Ah, but anything printed in JTAS Online or S&P has been paid for and the permission I need there is that of the editors. Which, at least in the case of JTAS, I have for legitimate purposes (I've never tried to submit anything to S&P, but I imagine it's the same).
Hans
FreeTrav
SOC-14 1K
I think you're thinking of Debrett's - and that was sort of my point when I said you could point to Burke's if you took the idea of a PPP volume and didn't explicitly call it "Rikarunasha's" in YTU.Ah, I see. I prefer Debart's Peerage & Baronetage myself.
That depends on the terms-of-sale when JTAS/S&P purchases the article. If they require the author to relinquish ALL rights - usual, but not necessarily universal - then you'd be correct, and all you'd need is permission from the publisher/editor (SJG for JTAS, Mongoose for S&P). If their contract looks more like what I do with Freelance Traveller - you're granting me the right to put it in the mag and on the website (and keep it in my archive) without limitation, but you retain all other rights not impaired by granting me those rights - then you'd want to go to the author as well. Basically, my position as editor is as I stated before. Stated another way, if the author says "yes", we will not say "no". Bill Cameron, for example, has an automatic "yes" on file with the world, for all intents and purposes.
I took the same approach with my game site back in the early COTI days. I was very vocal in the early days of COTI, "Build it and Share it" in support of Hunter's T20 and Marc. Interesting, I pointed to a couple other authors who did not feel the same way. Someone actually had to tell them it was a compliment. :rofl: On the other hand, I've had a few refs send me positive notes and even compliments for adapting other genres to Traveller.
I can look at several Traveller products that I've influenced through suggestions in the past and did not even receive a nod. So, don't expect much. I believe commercial use, in many cases, will just spin their own version and move on. After all, many media products are influenced by Traveller.
Oh, I realize lots of 'research' is done on the internet. I certainly don't expect anyone to fall all over themselves and send me a check if they do use something of mine. But it would be nice if they did.
GypsyComet
SOC-14 1K
Ditto. I was a HIWG member, though, so I was expecting to be "researched".
