Covet Not Thy Neighbor's Code or Words

Because of the mix of public/private spheres on the MOO, issues of intellectual property, free speech, and privacy can get quite muddled. In general, it is fairly safe to assume that most newbies are not aware of, or haven't had to think about, these issues and how they get played out inMOO. In general, it is safest for the user to assume that *nothing* on the MOO is private; any conversation can be logged; any note can be read. One of the most popular *lists on many MOOs is *qooc (quoted out of context). All text is up for grabs. Most universities require some type of "human subjects protocol" when students are part of a research project. If you log a conversation, the fact should be evident in the room's description. If you log your students' conversations, they should be fully cognizant of the fact and give their permission. Your students should be aware of the public nature of notes that they write, particularly on webbed MOOs. Your students should know how to use @sweep to determine if anyone is listening in on their private conversations. You should obtain permission to use any MOO person's words if you plan to cite them in a study or paper offMOO. All MOO users should read help privacy available in the standard Lambda-core.

Consider the following disclaimers from a variety of MOOs:

MediaMOO MediaMOO is a place for media researchers to network and share ideas. It's not a place to actually conduct research! Please do not do research on the inhabitants of MediaMOO without their informed consent.
Diversity University Diversity University MOO campuses are Internet locations for serious experimentation in network-based, interactive teaching, learning and social services. Those wishing to further this community development are welcome! To preserve this atmosphere the administration reserves the right to do unannounced monitoring as required. Information gathered will be treated in strict accordance with the Privacy Act.
LambdaMOO NOTICE FOR JOURNALISTS AND RESEARCHERS:
The citizens of LambdaMOO request that you ask for permission from all
direct participants before quoting any material collected here.
AussieMOO NOTICE: The citizens of AussieMOO request that you ask for permission from all direct participants before quoting any material collected within, or part thereof. Thankyou.

Since anonymity and privacy are particularly important features that MOO offers our students; and since teachers do not, and should not, have the right to follow their students around outside the classroom, be it online or off; and since MOO is an environment where authority is earned in the comunity by act and speech rather than status at the head of the classroom, we are currently working on a Bill of MOOrights which will enumerate individuals' rights to privacy, speech, and as much anonymity a MOO can provide given the need for security.

We welcome all who would like to participate in this project. Please offer your .02 here.

DaMOO's Porting Policy
If you have found some interesting/useful objects on another MOO and would like to port them to here, there are a few things you will have to do, and a few things you will have to consider.

First: Make sure we don't have something about the same here already, look around, look in the generics room off the library. Look at the *projects list for anyone working on it. Post there to see if anyone will work on it. Objects made on the target MOO may often be better suited for that MOO than ported objects.

Second: Will it be useful here? Consider the use of this object, and try to see if it is something we need. Do not just port an object cause it is cool at another MOO.

Third: Get permission from the person who owns the object on the MOO you want to port it from. You should always make sure you have permissions to port it here.

Fourth: Port the object. There are different ways to port, using plain copying of each line, using clients, and so on. I'll leave it up to you to find what is the best way for you.

Fifth: Make sure the object is working as it should here. There are differences between different MOOs. Something working on one MOO may not work on another. Make sure there are no hard coded object numbers in the code, since they will vary from MOO to MOO. Test it well before you put it into use.

Sixth: Make sure the object has help!

Seventh: Let others know the object is here by sending to an appropriate *list (*developments for now) and by adding it to the displays in the generics room off the library.

Eighth: If you don't know how to port an object, send a request to *projects, asking if someone can port it here. Include your reasons for wanting it.

**MOO Commandments**
I	II	III	IV	V
VI	VII	VIII	IX	X

or return to the index.

V