I am not sure how this works, so I figured I would ask. Say I post something on this site, and I receive a suggestion from someone on a better way to do what I want, and I then use their idea. If that work is eventually published, would I be under any legal obligation to them to either include their name somewhere in the work, or possibly even pay them a portion of the royalties?

I am obviously not overly concerned about it in regards to this community, but it is still something I am curious about. I don't want to do something that will eventually get me into trouble. My wife says I already get into enough trouble on my own.

Good question. It would probably depend on how big the idea is. If it's your whole story -then you have a problem. Otherwise, I would say you're alright, and wouldn't have any troubles. Don't take my word for it, though. I'm just a lowly unpublished dreamer. I would ask an esteemed published author of our community, like Emeth, or a member of the council, or anbody who knows the answer for sure.
*watches topic to see if she is right*

I don't know a lot on the legal side of writing, but I think it would be appropriate to include them in the acknowledgments for assistance in writing. : )

~Calen

I think all of us have so many ideas in our heads that letting someone else do it justice would be better than leaving it all alone. If you and a friend were talking about stories and you decide to just use it or copy theirs, I think it would be a problem but since that's not likely to happen, I'd say it's generally not a problem. It's up to the individual though. Our words are a matter of pride.

If the kind of help I gave to someone with their writing was a passing suggestion, or a simple proof read, I wouldn't expect any credit. However if one were to be an intensely thorough beta reader and/or final draft editor, I reckon they may be entitled to some credit.

But I've no idea what the legal technicalities would say about that.

A: It can't be any problem if they don't raise it. Around here, no one is going to come after you if you use an idea they gave you. If it's an idea not intended to help you (copying someone's story premise) that's a bit rough, rude, but again, unless someone from around here is going to make trouble, there is no trouble.
B: Unless they provided the idea as part of a contract to get credit or something... it's just the same as using a cliche line, telling a good joke, etc. Your repeating someone else's good idea. They'd have to prove it was theirs entirely or something.... essentially there is no way that you can get in trouble for using someone's friendly advice... or unfriendly advice for that matter