[Solved] I need help with the terms of a license.

[yaim904]

I created a copy of Earendel's MOD AAI Signal Transmission without paying attention to the license.

But I was just told that I shouldn't discard my mod because Earendel's license says “Factorio Mod Limited Distribution Only Licence” and I'm using their images.

I can change the images so I don't use Earendel's. But I find it strange that this is the case.

I don't know about this, which is why I'm asking.

[Meddleman]

The license is pretty cut-and-dry, but to make a term more clear, distribution refers to any way shape or form you have the mod or work hosted anywhere for public download.

You may make alterations for your own private personal use only.
You are not allowed to distribute any content from the mod, or anything altered or derived from this mod with the following exception:
You may post partial modified sections of this mod in Earendel's discord https://discord.gg/ymjUVMv for the purpose of providing bug fixes or enhancements.

You can do whatever modification you want to the original mod, but it must be kept private and personal, like on your own PC only. If you do want to publicize parts of it, then only on Earendel's discord. Crucially, however, not on the Factorio Mod Portal.

You cannot distribute any content of the mod separate from the complete mod package.
You can distribute the complete and unmodified mod package with the following conditions:
The mod must not be modified. (Packaging the mod into a larger zip file does not count as modification. It can be used in mod set packs.)
...

You can't subdivide little bits of Earendel's mod, put parts of it into your own mod while discarding the rest and call the mod your own.

What you can do is either, add Earendel's whole mod as a required dependancy, or package the whole physical mod as part of your main mod's zip file, and then write reference code to parts of his mod, e.g. modifiyng the behaviour of the signal telescope from the point of view of your mod.

[yaim904]

I understand, those seem like good options to me.

I find it strange that an open-source environment would impose those kinds of restrictions.

This has given me a lot to think about: if Earendel removes his mod, all the mods that depend on it would stop working (as happened when Factorio 2.0 came out); or by putting one mod inside another, you could end up with one that is so large/heavy that it couldn't be used. It has left me with a lot to think about.

Thank you for your help and clarification. Have a great day.