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. 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.