Meta/LNH: Free For Use Is Go

[Andrew Perron]

All right, written up a basic version of the ideas so far of how usability
should work at: http://www.lnhq.info/wiki/Character_Usability  It takes
heavily from the LNH FAQ, if that's all right.

Cut'n'pasted version:

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All LNH characters fall into one of several usability categories. These are
usually chosen by the character's original creator to define how the
character can be used by other Writers. Note that this doesn't affect legal
copyright status; it's more of a courtesy thing than anything else. A
character's owner can change their usability status at any time.

Reserved: This means one of two things:

    * The owner of these characters doesn't want other writers to use them.
(You can still ask, but don't be surprised by a "No".)
    * A writer has reserved a Not Reserved or Free For Use character
temporarily, as they'll be using them in a story and other writers using
them would be problematic. They return to their previous status when the
writer is done, and if the writer goes out of communication for over a
year, they automatically go back. 

Reserved, but Usable With Permission: If you want to use them for anything
more than a brief cameo (even then it's still polite to ask first), ask the
owners for permission. Most people will allow you to use them; often,
they'll ask that you send a copy of the work to check over first. Some
people will say "No". Please respect that.

This is the default category for new characters; a writer has to explicitly
declare their characters to be in a lower category.

Not Reserved: The creator of these characters is still using them, but hey,
you can use them too! However, you should ask before making any changes to
them.

Free For Use: These characters have been given up to the common toybox. Use
them whenever and however you like! However, as these characters are a
common resource, after you're done using them, you should generally leave
them in a state where they can be used by others. 
----

What do you think, sirs?

Andrew "NO .SIG MAN" "Juan" Perron, still isn't quite sure about Not
Reserved.