So if someone decides to give something to the public for FREE, and I stress the free part, then we should let the public decide if and how they use it.
but in this case, and especially recognizing doctor j's attitude in his posts, I think it is safe to let something like this pass...
And that's where I don't think you quite understand where I'm coming from. It's not so much a legal issue as a "patchmaker's code" kind of thing. I mean, as far as the legal aspect is concerned, free material is certainly protected by copyright. Consider some of the documents at
GameFAQs.com. Websites have copied the documents and been shut down for it. I admit I'm neither a lawyer or someone with extensive knowledge of law, but it is my understanding that just because something on the Internet is free, doesn't necessarily mean you can use it however you want or make certain modifications...even if you don't intend on making money from it.
(I would also point out scripts such as news posting, the downloads script we use on the NLSC and forums such as phpBB as other examples of free things that have certain limitations when it comes to usage and modification.)
About letting it pass...well, if you're going to let one person do something, it's only fair to let everyone do it. And when it comes to patchmaking, that means anyone can take someone else's work, change it around a bit (or maybe not change it at all), slap their own name on it and take all the credit.
I know this may be coming off as extremely egotistical, but really, it's not about that. The NLSC roster gets thousands of downloads, and not nearly as many "Thank yous". That is something you just live with. I update the rosters for my own benefit, but I know that it helps out other people if I share those updates. That's the whole philosophy behind modding and patching. I'm not in this for ass kissing or acclaim, but it is nice to have your hard work acknowledged; especially when it's something all of us don't do often enough. It's nice to get credit for your effort.
When someone takes a mod and passes it off as their own, it really is quite unfair to the person who created it. It is quite frustrating to put a lot of time into a roster patch, have someone take it, change it around a bit, then get all the credit for it when you've done most of the work - creating players, changing a lot of ratings to begin with, adding new Legends, whatever.
And that goes for any patch. But obviously, sometimes it's in everyone's interest to team up or share resources. Common courtesy, which is a big part of the modding community, suggests that it's only fair and appropriate to ask permission before using someone else's work, in any capacity - even if it's just part of a bigger project that will contain your own original work.
I've been around the community a long time, and as Mikki alluded to, it has been a problem in the past. A big problem. Not just in recent times with the sites he mentioned, but pretty much since the beginning of the NBA Live online community. Tim and Lutz used to put watermarks in their roster updates so that if they were re-released by someone else, it could easily be identified.
What I'm saying is, I'm not the first or last person to be this protective of my work. You only have to look through some of the Announcements threads with the graphics patches - jersey textures and cyberface bheds in particular. We do stick together by not tolerating stolen work.
I'm usually not keen on letting folks use my roster patch as a base for their own because there's a lot of work originally, updating the rosters from the game's release with missing players, ratings corrections, etc. It really is a huge shortcut to take my rosters and make a few changes and the latest transactions, which is why I prefer to refuse permission until I'm ready to move onto the next Live, at which time I offer the patch to someone else to continue in my stead.
Above all, it's about asking first and giving credit where credit is due. That is how our modding community works. I understand where you're coming from, but I feel that you see my point of view as being egotistical and inappropriate, to which I say, it has been the way of this community for a long time, even before I was a part of it. If you're going to ask me to let an incident like this slide, you might as well tell that to every other patchmaker as well. And I'm sure you'll get a similar response.
Too bad you hate lawyers, with eloquence like that you could have been a good one! 
, that I understand your position and the way you feel about your hours of work being undermined. And trust me, I made no clear or hidden point that you were egotistical or anything similar. I have been around the web ever since its first steps and have participated in quite a number of forums, gaming ones or otherwise. All I was trying to point out is that sometimes, we should worry more about how the community can be served, rather than by who...
I LEAVE 99.97% OF MY VIEWERS SPEECHLESS 
