Yes but the way the creators went about presenting and releasing this system taunted and/or urged "thieves" to do this. If it was released to begin with in a working form with basic functions, either lock it up or release an open source or source code then let people have at it, people would be more willing to reserve credit. 

 

The more you restrict, the more you will attract people to break into the code or rewrite it or edit and call it their own, that's just the way the world is, there are always people find ways to get what they want.

 

It isn't a good idea to say or present this awesome system that my clan has and say oh but I'll be releasing "public version" which will be restricted and dumbed down. Then go to communities and go here are your basic functions that aren't as cool as my clans. That's basically what happened, it wasn't done in a direct bragging manner but it was still done in indirect ways.

 

I agree that people should ALWAYS credit authors/devs/creators, their work, their time, they deserve it. However, next time it would be great to say hey I'm having an open beta for a version of this system I made, any communities willing to try it out here ya go. Make it extremely customization for the functions it has so people don't have to "make it their own".

 

---Do I think that it was in the right of the author to shut down this system? Yes I do, it wasn't all one parties' fault though, however everything could have gone a lot better so everyone could be encouraged to push this idea in a positive direction.

 

Honestly, reading through the OP's post, there really isn't anything to suggest that he was trying to taunt or urge anyone. he made a script so people could use for their clans, but thieves ruined it.

 

every script is locked down and the only people who can access it is the developers (unless you do what thieves did and crack it). it's extremely rare to find a script that is open for use.

 

and i don't think at all he "dumbed down" the mod, the clans he chose were for alpha and beta testing, so using one version for his clan and a different for the rest completely defeats the purpose of having testers. everything the developer put in would've been the release for other people to use.

 

just like in the online gaming world, it takes one hacker to ruin the enjoyment for everyone else, the same thing applies with mods. and as the OP did say, he might release it in the future. but the chances are decreased now because of these hackers.

Look, I don't want to turn this into a big argument. I'd just like to point out that the creator did state that he would be releasing a different version than the one his clan was using because he wanted his clan to remain unique to all the rest, therefore a "public" or "beta" version would be released with lesser features. Right there, rather or not people or if anyone knew what he was having people test was actually a full version, that wasn't made clear. This encouraged people to crack this thing open and further customize it to their clans needs. The fact that he basically stated he would be holding back some features encouraged this act further, making it worse than it would have been.

 

But everyone has to expect someone to "ruin it", look at the worlds prison system for example......

 

Look, the creator had his right to take down his work, the way I would look at it though if I were him, my work is out there and other clans are trying to use a more or less "beta" version. Why not turn around and make my next version X times better than what version they've got and just not give them the new one. I'd have clans PM me and have only certain clans with a good track record downloading my system and its further updates. Or create a server side system......

 

You can't expect the world to stop because someone has ruined something, find a solution instead of giving up. 

I'm not saying this creator is bad for taking down his work, I'd like to encourage him to move forward and show those hackers who runs the show, don't let an obstacle like this stop you from innovating one of the best roleplay systems on LCPDFR. Do you think it's any different for skinners or modelers?