I think we're going to take a pretty hands-off approach to this for now. I suspect that the more we try to set rules, the more responsible we are for enforcing them, and that's definitely not something we have the time or interest to deal with. So, everyone posts their files at their own risk, and if they want anything other than "take and use at will" from people, they need to specify it.
Badger, I think you're honestly over-analyzing things a bit. This *is* a subject that has been widely debated, not just here in the Terragen forums, but really ever since there were 3D graphics programs where you could trade files and techniques, and probably since the beginning of art if you really think about it. What about artists who make their own paint brushes and mix their own paints vs. those that don't; is one more legitimate than the other? Does one make better *art* than the other, necessarily?
You can argue the "investment" level of any artist in a given piece, how much time, effort, skill did it take, etc.; does a photograph take less skill than a painting of the same thing, for example. But ultimately there are so many perspectives to approach it from, whether it is art, vs. whether it is valuable (monetarily), vs. whether it is beautiful, vs. whether it is *legal*, etc, etc. The things you seem to be talking about honestly seem much more personal, they come down to how *you* learn, how you use the resources here, and what you end up doing with them. I suggest that you do what you think is right, I suspect you will do the right thing and anyone whose resources you make use of will probably be more than satisfied with that.
- Oshyan