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Would you consider this to be "wrong"?
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I'm currently writing a guide for Kid Icarus: Uprising, and I decided that I'll work a little bit on the appendices before really getting to the walkthrough. On Icaruspedia (kidicaruswiki.org), there's a list of every weapon in the game, along with their base stats. I planned to give them full credit and put these base stats in my guide, in the HTML format. I also considered placing the weapon images next to all the information to make it look prettier, but according to the Help section, this is not allowed because it's not really related to gameplay (although I've seen a guide where this has been done for non-gameplay purposes and was still accepted). Anyway, I can't help but think that doing all of this is making it a little *too* similar to the Wiki, even in format (especially if I included the images). I know it's not plagairism because Wiki information is not copyrighted, nor is factual information in a game, but I basically feel like I'm taking everyone's hard work and effortlessly putting it in my guide, and it feels wrong for some reason. Am I being stupid/making sense? Should I just roll with it as long as credit is given? | |
Super Slash posted... ...because Wiki information is not copyrighted, nor is factual information in a game... That's the key part. In my XCOM: Enemy Unknown FAQ, I did (with credit given) take whole tables of stat-related junk from a wiki and an official guide. Mostly confirmed them in-game too just to double check. Even if it seems easy, consider that you're also consolidating this with everything -else- you're doing for the FAQ. Rather than having to wiki-hop or page-hop, everything is on one solid document. Offering information in a different format is a service. | |
Yeah, that's what I was thinking as well. I thought I'd ask for more opinions just in case, though. | |
The way I've always seen it, it's only a problem if the 'expression of an idea' is too similar, including the formatting of tables and the like. Unless there's no other logical way to format something (which isn't an uncommon thing), then I'd try a different formatting style, even if it's to differ itself from a source such as a wiki. That's just me though. Dunno if that's the right way to go about things, but I feel as if I'm doing something wrong otherwise. There's definitely nothing wrong with using the factual information though, using an outside source is just a means of saving yourself valuable time that you could use for other things in the FAQ. :) --- Major Upcoming FAQ Projects: NSMB2, FTL, FE: Awakening http://facebook.com/redispoetic | |
While I *could* use a different format, using anything other than tables would just make things unnecessarily harder to read. | |
About the images, I don't think images of the weapons, even if it is "pretty", would not be appropriate. As for the using info from a wiki or guide, usually for the factual info and tables it's okay to take the info, but confirm it yourself and then put it in your guide. I suggest you be very careful if this is the ONLY information you are going to be putting in your guide. If you are writing a full walkthrough, then the data sections being sourced from a wiki is not that big of an issue. As the bulk of the guide is going to be your own creative work, but make sure your source the info and check it in-game. | |
From: Edalborez | Posted: 2/2/2013 8:24:35 AM | #002 Super Slash posted... ...because Wiki information is not copyrighted, nor is factual information in a game... That's the key part. It really is the keypart, because the information is kind of copyrighted but on a rather friedly licence, just look at the bottom of every page on the kid icaruswiki, it links to http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ I think the keyword is share alike. So if you use parts from the wiki, in your case the images, the resulting work, in this case your complete guide, has to be licensed under the same license. In other words everyone on the net can take you guide and host it whereever he wants and build upon it. Just like you did with the images. There goes your own restrictive copyright and new and exciting things can be build end endlessly transformed. --- I don't care who your dad is! While I'm fishing here nobody walks over the water! http://www.selmiak.de.vu | |
to paint things black, in case you submit it under the by nc sa license I could just take your guide, change some bits here and there and submit it as 'mine' (or rather my contribution to the practically uncopyrighted world of knowledge...) under the same cc license. If gamefaqs accepts the redundant guide is another question, but that's the theory. So to keep control of your copyright on your complete guide you could of course submit the weapons section of your guide as a separate indepth guide under the cc license and link it from your main guide. But then of course you could also just link to the wiki... This is all about the images someone else made and published under the by-nc-sa cc license. The weapon stats should be perfectly save to just copy+paste and add your own formatting touch. There may be a case if you not just download the images and then use in your guide but screenshot the page with the images and then cut them out from the screenshot yourself and this is then your work. But therefore you should ask a lawyer. Or just search in the history of the wiki page who made the images, contact the author and negotiate your own licensing and publishing right. I think if you really took the effort to contact the creator of these images he/she will probably feel honored and say, okay, you can use them with permission from me. But I don't know how law sees it when he already published them under cc license somewhere else, but in the end the creator is the one to decide imho. --- I don't care who your dad is! While I'm fishing here nobody walks over the water! http://www.selmiak.de.vu | |
^I know I would like to try out doing a Formatted FAQ for Mega Man 3 and I'm doing my own screenshots, via PSP. Some reason I can't do that while playing the digital copy on the PlayStation3 but can on PSP. So I'll be trying to use those screens in that Formatted FAQ. --- CRP: 12949 | FAQs: 15 FAQ Outlaws | Mega Man X | |
To both, they're really no big deal. I've placed not-so-useful images in FAQs before. I would link to my example, but the images seem to be down in FFAQs :P --- Luigi > Mario Current Project: 2012 FAQ Tournament | Upcoming Project: Luigi's Mansion FAQ |
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