CREDITING; Crediting for icons is completely optional and it's totally up to you. I just ask that you don't take credit for my work, which I don't think is too much to ask for.
COMMENTING; I love comments! I love knowing that my icons are being used and I like to know where they're being used. It's fun for me to see what sort of characters they're being used for and if they fit the idea I had in mind when making them, and if not, I love being introduced to new interpretations.
HOTLINKING; This is an automatic no. I feel like I'm a pretty lenient person, so I don't think it's asking too much to upload the images you want to use onto Imageshack or Tinypic or whatever it is you want to lose. I have a lot of icons on my Photobucket account, and I don't want those annoying little "Image not available" pictures because someone's used up all my bandwidth.
ALTERING; If you want to add borders to the icons or add text to a banner, go right ahead! There's no need to ask. If you'd like me to add text onto a banner for you, just ask. I'm more than happy to do it for you. However, if you plan to do anything else with then, I'd like for you to ask.