Member vs Contribution

[clint8565]

I couldn\'t find this anywhere else so...

Is it possible to contribute something, but not be a member? Anywhere I look you have to apply to be a member if you want to contribute something, but can you contribute something and not become a member?

[DaveG]

Yes.  Officially, we have a \"contributor\" status, which is exactly what you want.  (you can work on tasks every so often, and we\'ll review and commit to CVS for you)  This is primarily for the programming department, however.  If you wish to contribute code, you can use the new application system and list your wish in the app.  If you come to IRC, I can try to find something for you to do.  

[Karyuu]

I\'m kind of curious lately about not allowing art contributions. This isn\'t refering to posted things, but there are so many cool entries in the Unoffical Fanart Contest that really show off some talent - and it\'s probably the lack of time to be a full member that\'s keeping a lot of people from applying. Yet evidently, giving them spontaneous tasks works out quite nicely every now and then.

There\'s probably something I\'m missing and will need a further official explanation on - but couldn\'t people sign a contributor NDA and Copyright Agreement of sorts before being given a task?

Anywho \\o/

*edit* Yay Xordan :3 I guess art contributions can be accepted, since the website still states:

CONTRIBUTOR:
     To be a contributor you must simply send an e-mail to the leader of the department in which you want to contribute. The BIG difference with members, is that you will have more loose deadlines on the work you should complete and obviously also lesser benefits in the game.
The skills required are the same as the members, listed below in the description of each department.

Mmm.. will need more learning about.

[DaveG]

Well, the thing is that with programming, the copyright agreement and NDA is not required from the start, but it is for art.  Yeah, it\'s kinda vague for the art department, which is one reason we just default to \"must apply\", so that we don\'t end up with people signing contracts that don\'t have SVN access, and other odd contradictions.  Also, if you\'re going to submit something to be owned by an organization, personally I\'d want to be part of that organization.  However, that being said, I think we should really have some sort of a \"contributor\" level for art.  It would have to only involve more basic tasks, like textures and other simple art (no way you\'d be making maps, or anything).  I really don\'t know how it would be worked out, though.  It just seems to be the sort of thing that no one ever really bothered with.

The fan art competition thing has come up before, and we really should make an official one.  There have been a few people that have gone from the fan art forums to the art dept, and we should encourage that more.  

[clint8565]

Oh...
I was kinda leaning towards the art contribution, because I\'m not big on coding(though I\'ve done plenty). I just didn\'t think the topic would fit in the fanart section, seeing as that\'s fanart and not stuff that\'s for the game. So can you contribute art or is that a no go because there\'s no agreement setup? I would apply to become a member except for the \'2-3 hours a day to devote\' that\'s just not going to happen with all the stuff I have to do.

[Karyuu]

You know what, I would suggest sending in an application anyway and mentioning that you\'d just like a contributor position. As always, fill in all the data (no blanks) and give examples of work, and who knows :) I certainly hope we figure something out on this.

[Induane]

karyuu do you think an unofficial artist status could exist?  They could be granted access to another section of the forums just as GM\'s are now.  Applying would not require anything other than signing a nondisclosure/artist liscence whatever blah blah legal stuff... tasks could be given there just like the fan art challenge - and hte best one finds its way ingame....
good idea?
bad idea?
stupid?

[Karyuu]

I don\'t even have access to the member 2D forum section xD The forums aren\'t as important when it comes to the team - there are various sites/pages, and the key thing is IRC. There is a contributer status, as shown, but the area is grey when it comes to artists, so no doubt this will need some polishing as soon as time allows. Applying would -still- be necessary though, since we need to know what you are capable of and what previous experience you have, along with basic contact information.

I don\'t know, this all sounds good to me and I\'ll be sure to add my voice to the discussion if it ever comes up, but it\'s definitely not up to me :)

[KyroMaster]

Why do you have a NDA for art. Planeshift is free, isn?t it. Or have I missunderstood something here?

[Karyuu]

An NDA simply means that team members cannot \"leak\" development information before it is made public. One of the reasons for this is to keep an element of surprise, and I think sometimes to keep people from arguing over the direction of development. For example, \"WHY ARE YOU DOING THAT FIRST? I WANT SOMETHING ELSE!!\" or \"THAT\'S STUPID, DON\'T WASTE YOUR EFFORT ON THAT,\" etc. There are many reasons, just typing out the first ones that come to mind. It has nothing to do with PlaneShift being free.

Art is also not \"free for use\" in other projects, but that\'s another story discussed many times before.

[KyroMaster]

OK, this makes sense of course