MCNET_GUIDELINES.txt

               MCNET GUIDELINES

      for Event Generator Authors and Users


    PREAMBLE

This generator has been developed as part of an academic research
project and is the result of many years of work by the authors.
Proper academic recognition is a requirement for its continued
development.

The components of the program have been developed to work together
as a coherent physics framework. We believe that the creation of
separately maintained forks or piecewise distribution of individual
parts would diminish their scientific value.

The authors are convinced that software development in a scientific
context requires full availability of all source code, to further
progress and to allow local modifications to meet the specific
requirements of the individual user.

Therefore we have decided to release this program under the
GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2. This ensures
that the source code will be available to you and grants you the
freedom to use and modify the program. You can redistribute your
modified versions as long as you retain the GPL and respect existing
copyright notices (see the file 'COPYING' for details).

By using the GPL, we entrust you with considerable freedom and expect
you to use it wisely, since the GPL does not address the issues in
the first two paragraphs. To remedy this shortcoming, we have
formulated the following guidelines relevant for the distribution
and usage of event generator software in an academic setting.


    GUIDELINES

1) The integrity of the program should be respected.
    -------------------------------------------------

1.1) Suspected bugs and proposed fixes should be reported back to the
    original authors to be considered for inclusion in the standard
    distribution.  No independently developed and maintained forks
    should be created as long as the original authors actively work on
    the program.

1.2) The program should normally be redistributed in its entirety.
    When there are special reasons, an agreement should be sought with
    the original authors to redistribute only specific parts. This
    should be arranged such that the redistributed parts remain
    updated in step with the standard distribution.

1.3) Any changes in the code must be clearly marked in the source
   (reason, author, date) and documented. If any modified version is
   redistributed it should be stated at the point of distribution
   (download link) that it has been modified and why.

1.4) If a significant part of the code is used by another program,
    this should be clearly specified in that program's documentation and
    stated at its point of distribution.

1.5) Copyright information and references may not be removed.
    Copyright-related program messages may not be altered and must be
    printed even if only a part of the program is used. Adding further
    messages specifying any modifications is encouraged.


2) The program and its physics should be properly cited when used for
    academic publications
    ------------------------------------------------------------------

2.1) The main software reference as designated by the program authors
    should always be cited.

2.2) In addition, the original literature on which the program is based
    should be cited to the extent that it is of relevance for a study,
    applying the same threshold criteria as for other literature.

2.3) When several programs are combined, they should all be mentioned,
    commensurate with their importance for the physics study at hand.

2.4) To make published results reproducible, the exact versions of the
    codes that were used and any relevant program and parameter
    modifications should be spelled out.


    POSTSCRIPT

The copyright license of the software is the GPL v2 alone, therefore
the above guidelines are not legally binding. However, we reserve the
right to criticize offenders. The guidelines should always be combined
with common sense, for interpretation and for issues not covered.
Enquiries regarding the guidelines and related issues are encouraged
and should be directed to the authors of the program.

Please note that the program, including all its code and documentation,
is intended for academic use and is delivered "as is" to be used at
your own risk, without any guarantees.

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These guidelines were edited by Nils Lavesson and David Grellscheid
for the MCnet collaboration, which has approved and agreed to respect
them.  MCnet is a Marie Curie Research Training Network funded under
Framework Programme 6 contract MRTN-CT-2006-035606.