I've been quietly following the progression on this and think you've done a great job. I was also really impressed by the spirit of collaboration that underpinned all your posts and your solicitation of feedback. Really positive process all round!

The Kbin code is AGPL, so that will likely become the license for the actual art assets if it's put in place officially. The current folder logo is already in the repo and under AGPL. If I were Ernest and wanted this to be part of the project I would ask you to submit it as a PR to Codeberg (and sign any necessary CLAs) so that the assets are properly placed into the repository under its license.

For now you can use CC-BY-NC-SA like you suggested which would allow for profile pics, magazine sidebar images, fan art, and the like. Since this is a SA license the users and mods need to have their modified images released under the same license as well. For a PFP attribution and indication of the license would be difficult and most people probably won't care. Also note that the CC license is irrevocable and people are allowed to use the assets freely outside of Kbin as long as the terms are followed.

As a 3PA dev or a Kbin instance owner I would not touch anything with NC as there is some ambiguity in the NC clause which might be trouble for an instance which say is not for-profit but accepts donations. In addition if the app was open-source they would need to separately license the artwork to maintain compliance with CC-BY-NC-SA.

In the future though Ernest might want to trademark the mascot along with the name Kbin so that it will be used exclusively to represent the project. This would probably require a formal release from you (AGPL won't cut it here) basically giving them the rights to to do whatever they want with it.

Yeah this stuff is messy :) but it's good to know about it and get the conversation started now. I'm actually about to get this account deleted but thought it was worth mentioning this as I've been following the Kbin mascot ideas from the start.

I think it would not just restrict simply selling the image or its derivative works, but also prohibit using it as part of paid product (e.g. paid app). Probably ad-supported websites or apps too, but it's unclear. I'm not lawyer though so it could be wrong.

Personally I have to problem with that but it may deter others so you will need to decide according to your convictions.

Here is great write-up about non-commercial clause by Wikimedia (in 3.5 section): https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Open_Content_-_A_Practical_Guide_to_Using_Creative_Commons_Licences/The_Creative_Commons_licencing_scheme

hi ernest, kibby and i are very pleased to hear this!

That sounds a lot like approval! :D

I think I will, thanks! I've also just posted a small list of Kbin userscripts that I like to spread awareness and added yours as well :)

It looks so nice, thank you!