DEFINITIONS

[!WARNING] Public Draft

The words of which the initial letter is capitalized have meanings defined below. The following definitions shall have the same meaning regardless of whether they appear in singular or in plural. Thus, for the purposes of these legal documents:

"You" (or "Your") refers to any individual, collective, or organization exercising permissions granted by this document—including readers, writers, artists, developers, contributors, and collaborators.

"Lead Maintainer" refers to the person serving as the primary custodian and curator of the Project. Currently, the Lead Maintainer is the owner and creator of this Project.

"Manager" refers to the Lead Maintainer or any person authorized by the Lead Maintainer to assist in carrying out the duties of the Lead Maintainer.

"Project" refers to Astrocosmos, a collaborative, galactic-scale worldbuilding project. Worldbuilding or conworlding is the process of constructing an imaginary world, sometimes associated with a whole fictional universe. The resulting world may be called a "Constructed World"

"Repository" refers to the version-controlled repository or repositories used to store, develop, and distribute the Project.

"Software Utility" refers to a part of the Project consisting of, but not limited to: programming code, scripts, or software, which are ordinarily used to implement or support the Framework, Entry, or the whole project.

"Content" refers to the part of the Project consisting of everything that builds the Constructed World. Content consists of Frameworks and Entries as defined below. The document, page, or other organized presentation containing or describing one or more pieces of Content is called an "Article"

"Framework" is part of the Content which is, but not limited to: features, rules, mechanics, systems of the Constructed World. Analogically, a blueprint/class for Entry

"Entry" is part of the Content that represents a specific, instantiated lore element, record, or codex item within the Constructed World (including, but not limited to: specific characters, planets, species, factions, historical events, technologies, or locations). Analogically, an object/instance of Framework

If a Framework document describes a mechanic (e.g., "ships have three hull-integrity tiers") and a Software Utility implements a calculator for that mechanic, thus the description is Content and the calculator code is Software Utility — even though they're related.

"Creative Work" includes, but not limited to: novels, short stories, comics, digital artwork, physical prints, tabletop RPG rulebooks, indie video games, audio dramas, and mass merchandise. A Creative Work submitted for inclusion in the Project that depicts Content is called a "Depictive Work" and is part of the Project. Meanwhile, a Creative Work set in the Constructed World that is not submitted for inclusion in the Project is called an "Independent Work".

"Submission" refers to any Content, Software Utility, or Depictive Work submitted by You for consideration as part of the Project.

"Contribution" refers to a Submission that has been accepted by the Manager.

The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14 [RFC 2119] [RFC 8174] when, and only when, they appear in uppercase.