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[Ampersand]

For the record, unless otherwise noted, everything I've ever written is under the Do What the Fuck You Want Public Licence http://sam.zoy.org/wtfpl/

[Chronas]

For the record, unless otherwise noted, everything I've ever written is under the Do What the Fuck You Want Public Licence http://sam.zoy.org/wtfpl/

BRILLIANT!

[IndonesiaWarMinister]

For the record, unless otherwise noted, everything I've ever written is under the Do What the Fuck You Want Public Licence http://sam.zoy.org/wtfpl/

Hey, can I modify that license? (Of course, releasing it under a different name, e.g. DO WHAT GOD WANTS YOU TO DO)

[forsaken1111]

1. I doubt anyone would complain
2. It was all posted on a public forum
3. THIS IS THE INTERNET!!! pirates, torrents, and p2p networks, oh my!

Yet none of those points makes it legal.

Because it's not illegal to start with. Taking posts from a public forum and using them in another format is in no way illegal. The ONLY possible legal ramifications would come up if he intended to sell this pdf, which he doesn't. Stop with the copyright crap, please.

It is illegal to start with. Have you no understanding of the concept of intellectual property? Just because the work was broadcast in a public space doesn't mean the work itself is in the public domain. If the work was created, it belongs to the creator.

And it doesn't matter if he plans to sell it or not, illegal is still illegal. Paying for something - or not- doesn't change the legal facts behind it all.

Well under that definition, if I take a picture of some graffiti on a wall in a public area and post it on the web I am violating the law. I'd like you to show me a law that says someone cannot compile some forum posts into a single document and post it on the internet, with no plans of profiting from the work. Really, I'd like to see this law as it must be very vague and open to interpretation to even encompass such a scenario and could likely be applied to all sorts of fun situations.

You overheard a conversation in a diner and used an idea derived from that conversation? ILLEGAL
You saw a funny face drawn on the wall of a bathroom stall and decided to turn it into a cartoon? ILLEGAL

[Goron]

You overheard a conversation in a diner and used an idea derived from that conversation? ILLEGAL

IDEAs are not copywritten copyrighted (edit: lulz, im an idiot), implementation of ideas are.
Therefore:
You overheard a speech in a diner and used an idea derived from that speech? LEGAL
You overheard a speech in a diner and reproduced that speech? ILLEGAL
(edit to elaborate: Thats why it is not illegal to give a speech on... say... healthcare. Just because someone else already gave a speech about an idea relating to healthcare does not make a new speech illegal, but to take that first speech and reproduce it in an ebook would be illegal.)

You saw a funny face drawn on the wall of a bathroom stall and decided to turn it into a cartoon? LEGAL
You saw a funny face drawn on the wall of a bathroom stall and decided to reproduce the funny face? ILLEGAL
(edit to elaborate: I can take a picture of Homer Simpson and create a new character based on the concept of a balding fat guy that likes donuts- we all know Simpsons had a DEFINITE influence on Family Guy, for example, but, notice that Peter Griffin is not a reproduction of Homer. He is an entirely new character based on the same similar idea. If I were to start drawing Homer Simpson and putting him in an ebook cartoon it would be illegal, though)

its really quite simple..
All your examples do not involve copying the original- rather they involve getting ideas from an original and then creating a new original

[Spreggo]

Make the boooooook.

By the way, I'd like to be on board as an illustrator if I can.

[Angellus]

Great idea.
If we are to attract new players, a 'start-from-scratch' tutorial should be included in the book. If you can use some help, pm me, I'll gladly use some of my free time to convert wiki tutorials to pdf / write some new tutorials myself.

Use the illustrated wiki-tutorial!

And put that after some good stories, with the line 'Want to make your own epic fort?' or something along that line


EDIT: Seriously people, who the fuck cares about the legality if you can up it with a torrent?

[supa]

i'm sorry, but i have to bite. troll or notroll.

all these legalities are tearing away from what this ebook is trying to accomplish- An easy way to get people interested in DF. the game that has brought us together in this forum.

like others have suggested before me, you should go ahead with the project (and it looks like you're already in the process of it) as long as it is not for profit. as a precaution, email all associated authors for their consent. if they do not want their work put into the ebook, simply remove it. if toady doesn't want the ebook brought out, remove it. reference where you pull your content from.

i personally would like a collection of DF stories so that i don't have to actively search for it.

legal or illegal? moral or immoral? are we really that eager to sue each other over something this trivial? /endrant

[Armok]

/endrant

Seconded.

[orbcontrolled]

EDIT: You know what, supa said it much better, I'm just going to withdraw this.

[Angellus]

/endrant

Seconded.

Thirted or whatever.
Just make sure that you up a torrent if it must be removed
(What? I like torrents ^^)

[Goron]

what this ebook is trying to accomplish- An easy way to get people interested in DF. the game that has brought us together in this forum.

Do you honestly think an ebook of stories would get more people interested in Dwarf Fortress- legalities aside?
See, the part of your own statement that betrays the motivation is this:

i personally would like a collection of DF stories so that i don't have to actively search for it.

You also go on with:

the game that has brought us together in this forum

The game brought us together to the forum- the forum then exposed us to the stories.
As such to make the assumption that these stories will bring people to the game is completely wacky. You are taking a process, reversing it, and assuming all the variables hold true.

In the end, the ebook would most likely benefit us, the current players, over anyone else. That is why we, the current players, are asking for it- not the prospective players.

I have heard all these crazy ideas as to how to get more DF players- some are good, some are bad, this one, in my humble opinion, is just silly.
Take note, I am saying
[an ebook is a silly idea to draw in new players],
NOT
[an ebook is a silly idea]...

So while I fully support anyone's idea to attempt a nice compilation of DF related stories, as I think it would be pretty cool myself, I must step in and say using it as an excuse to draw in more players (and thus justification for any legality issue) is just silly.

The DF interface is the number one factor keeping players away. Period.
So if your true goal is to draw in more players- then go get on the wiki and make it better, make more tutorials- work on a possible print manual. THose things will open DF up to new people a bit better... Spend yoru time doing that rather than arguing legalities and making ebooks of stories- we all know the ebook would be for our (the playerbase's) benefit.

What got me to play DF? When Penny Arcade linked to TinyPirate's tutorial. His time, energy, and his actual desire to draw in players at his expense brought on more new DF players than any ebook of stories will ever accomplish. Without a doubt one could argue that it was Penny-Arcade's publicity that did it, but to that I can simply respond "sure, I learned of DF from PA, but I never got past the generate world screen prior to Tiny Pirate".
Reach will not generate players. All of us have heard of or are highly aware of manual drive vehicles, but despite this few of us are willing to or can actually drive them.

Ease of use > reach, as such:
Tiny Pirate's Tutorial > Penny Arcade's publicity, as such:
[ability to play] > awareness and potential interest (like the interest generated from stories)...

Since we all know usability is not a soon to come update, that means aiding the usability through third party apps or even just documentation are some of the next best steps we can take to draw in new players... So once again, if your true reasoning for an ebook is new players- then consider what I write... If you were just saying that to hide your greedy desire for ease of use in accessing stories, then admit it... cuz honestly theres nothing wrong with that.


EDIT:

RANTING RANTING RANTING RANTING RANTING

Behold American copyright law! Behold it and be amazed! Our entire country actually lives under this system, and I don't know how they get anything done.

Under the circumstances I vote we throw up our hands, abandon legal concerns, and proceed according to the Golden Rule.

Perhaps we could even include a disclaimer in the first post stating that by reading or contributing to this project you are violating [whatever law it is] and could be risking [years of jailtime / other punishment]. You know, just to filter out the sourpusses. 

in the post you quoted me, then modified my quote to 'ranting ranting ranting', I'd like you to please explain my 'rant'...
I was simply saying that his examples were notcopyright infringement... I explained what copyright was... not once did I even mention the original topic of the thread... So I really don't get wtf you are posting for.

[Angellus]

Wow, that tinypirate has one hell of a tutorial. Might just convert that to pdf just to print it for myself!

Freaking tastic!

EDIT: He already has a (100 pages!!!) .pdf! Wicked!

[Goron]

Wow, that tinypirate has one hell of a tutorial. Might just convert that to pdf just to print it for myself!

Freaking tastic!

Legal:-)

[Spreggo]

Actually, Boatmurdered got me interested in the game.