[MMD] Giving credits: the right way (updated)

Giving credits to original authors, modellers, editors and/or copyright owners is one of the most sensible matters for any MMD user. It's also, to be honest, one of the most boring operations, in particular if you have used a lot of parts, accessories, models and contents from third parties and you have not kept a trace of where you've taken what. But it's a necessary operation.

I won't spend words about ethic reasons to credit. If you have ever edited, modelled, rigged a model or a part useable in MMD, you simply know how many time you've spent to allow other people use your contents. If you have not, simply try to imagine it and ask yourself this: "Shall I be happy when I see my work, put for free download on the net, used by anyone who neither thanks me, neither tells other people who made the original work?". It's a fairplay matter, more and before than a "copyright" matter.

But I'd like just to explain HOW to credit, not WHY to do it.

Supposing you KNOW and/or REMEMBER where you got the parts you used to create a new finished model or to make a picture or an animation, you should always give credits to original authors. By the way, I'll use the term "author" also referring to editors, rippers/riggers, and so on, not only to an effective "modeller from scratch".

Let's suppose you have created and animation using a new model in which you put an edited TDA face on a zombie body ripped from a videogame, a chainsaw from bowlroll and a pair of high heels shoes found here on deviantart, then you animated the model in a stage also found here on DA and with a song as soundtrack. Let's talk about HOW to credit.

The WRONG, USELESS way to credit

Credits to:
TDA, Capcom, xx-GomiNoSensei85-xx, AsdrubalWarriorQueen, DarkPuppeteer91, LovelyMikuYuri, キジバト, Rhianna

This is bad. This is completely useless. The only reason you could be forgiven, is if you had no idea or you didn't remember who made what. If you don't want to give credits (I won't discuss about this) ok, but if you decide to give credits, do it the right way.

WHY IS THIS WAY WRONG AND USELESS?
The first reason why you credit an original work, is to thank the original authors. You can bet he/she won't gain a single coin, but he/she will be happy and grateful seeing his/her work used by you. Any "author" who freely puts a content on the net for free use does this for personal amusement, passion and probably to help other fan users of MMD to compose their artwork. Your given credits are the only way you can tell them "hey, you've helped me making something amusing for me". Don't forget this. An author likes to be recognized for his/her original work, likes other people see what you are thanking for.
Imagine a movie where in the end titles you find all actors, directors, producers, stuntmen and cameramen names, mixed together with no specification of what they do in that movie. It's an idiot way to give credits, isn't it?
Don't credit the author only, credit his/her work and mention what you used.

The second and (in my opinion) most important reason is to help other people (other MMD users) in finding what they are looking for.

Let's read the previous "credits" again (the bad way):
Do you understand who made what?
Do you understand where to find the used parts?
Do you understand where to find the authors, if to find them on deviantart, on facebook, on bowlroll, on a Youtube channel or on a private blog?
Do you understand if Capcom is owner of an used part, of the stage, or of the soundtrack?

Answers are: No. No. No. No.

This is why is absolutely useless to give credits this way, thanking/mentioning just the names of the authors.

Other MMD users could be impressed by a part, a stage, an accessory you have used and could want to use them theirselves. Or they could be interested to take a look at the author's site and search for other content the authors have published.
Giving credits that way, with mentions only, you are not helping them in any way. You don't tell them who made what.
You don't tell them where to find the same content you have used.
You don't tell them where to find the authors and see what other they have published.

The RIGHT, USEFUL way to credit

Again: If you decide to spend some minutes to give authors their credits, do it the right way. A good and useful "credit section" should be similar to this one:

Credits:
- Zombie body: Capcom [link to where you found the DLC used]
- Head: TDA and XXXXX [link to the editor who modified the head]
- Chainsaw: キジバト from Bowlroll [link to bowlroll DL page or bowlroll user profile]
- Shoes: YYYYYY [link to DA page of the author]
- Stage: ZZZZZZ [link to author's page]
- Soundtrack: "S&M" by Rhianna  

This way you both give credits to authors for what they effectively worked on, and help other MMD users to find useful contents for their MMD artworks.

Update 1: How to "LINK BACK"

Thanks to user who asked this question. Sometimes is easier to put a list of item, each of one followed by the download link. I.e. what is generally called "link back". This is a short but good way of crediting IF the link refers to a download page where is evident the author of the content.
Some authors put, for example, a preview image here on Deviantart and then publish a link to a downloadable file hosted by external services, like google drive, mediafire, onedrive, and so on.
Don't forget the double goal of "credits": you need both to provide a way to download the same content you have used AND to thanks the original author of it.
So, don't ever link directly the file, if it's on external hosting services: Link the deviation (if here on DA) or the author's profile or the author's gallery.
 

Update 2: MME Effects credits

That's a hard matter. Some videos contain a lot of effects. Most of them are "well known" around the MMD community, so authors often bypass the need to provide visitors a way to download those effects. It could be very very boring to list all effects you used and where to download them from. But always consider
1) A newbie MMD user won't probably know at all what your "well known" effect does. He/She probably won't know if Diffisuion7 affects lights, blur or if it splashes (and "diffuses") your model in seven thousands bloody pieces.
2) A newbie MMD user rarely will know where you have downloaded your "well known" effect, in particular where your "well known" effect has been published on a japanese site; worst of all if it is followed by updates: you have to search for them on bowlroll, niconico and any other damned japanese blog, where the ONE, single post you're searching for, is overwhelmed and flooded by hundreds of daily posts in a language you don't know at all.
3) Sometimes the original effect was released by an author, but an updated/improved version (used in the video) has been developed by someone other. If you just mention the name of the effect who are you really crediting?
So, let's be explicit. We all know it could be a torture to completely mention all of used effects. But we also all know we should do this, at least to help newbies not going mad to find a simple shader effect.

Update 3: README.txt, this "unknown" object...

As suggested in a comment above, a README file is the (almost) perfect solution to keep a clear and ordered history or "genealogy" of the model in case of distribution, when providing a downloadable content. Since the description of the preview could have a short (but possibly complete) list of used parts and of their authors, a readme file should contain any additional and complete information.
An artwork published as an image or as a video should just credit the authors and give informations on where to find the used parts, while a distributed content is a different matter: You should not only give credits, but also take trace of what has been changed (and how), and, most important, the "terms of use", or "rules" affecting the user parts. You have to consider, when redistributing edited models, that YOU CANNOT "OVERWRITE" the wishes and ToS of original authors of the parts you have used. For example if the model base you used has been distributed under the condition to not use it in sexually explicit artworks, you cannot "overwrite" this deny just because you have moved some vertices to change the face looking or have added a different hair model on the base. And so, while you have the right to be credited for you work as editor, you MUST attach also the original rule that denies that kind of use.


That's all, folks.

b.t.w., forgive me for my terrific english. Hope you've understood me, anyway.