Second life is rife with drama and accusations. I have discovered that the skin industry is no exception. Yes, stolen work is serious business, but in no way shape or form should YOU take matters into your hands and start harassing someone who has been accused of theft. For one thing, you are most likely NOT a skin expert, and it’s all conjecture at this point; second, I’ve found out that some brands will accuse others of theft just to break their competition and third, there are SO many templates out there now that it’s almost IMPOSSIBLE to tell anymore unless they use the template straight outta the box.
IF! you ever run across a skin that reminds you of another creator’s, the ONLY proper recourse of action is to inform the creator and drop an LM on them. NOTHING ELSE. Let the person you informed handle it. They can tell if parts of their work have been used and if they deem it so, they will file the DMCA. We are NOT a court of law, and so let the right people handle it. Only creators are able to file DMCAs, not the general consumer.
To the creators who think it’s a great practice to spread the word that someone is botting you without having filed a DMCA because you know it wouldn’t hold up. WTF do you think you are? Because you make skins and earn a few Ls from it that you are suddenly God? And that you can go around harassing people and organizing lynch mobs? Every time you do something like this, this reflects back on your business, and as more and more see your actions, they will be turned off and stop shopping at your store. If you truly think someone has copybotted your skin, file a DMCA and let LL handle it from there. If the accused counter files, then it’s on YOU to take it to real life court and let the law decide. Not to take it to plurk, groups, flickr etc and start a war against the accused. In the states we have a saying, innocent until proven guilty….often that is not how it really is, in the states or just in life in general.
To those people who get involved in the drama. Make sure you know who you are supporting and that you trust them completely, and actually use your brain and not just take someone’s word for it. Sadly it’s coming to light that false accusations are being thrown around in order to squash competition….so I just say to you to be careful and ask yourself if it’s really necessary for you to get involved.
About myself. No I’m not perfect, yes I’ve made and will continue to make mistakes. I’m a firm believer in the truth and that it should be available to everyone, but I also believe that every story has 3 sides. Does this mean I follow this always? No. As I said I make mistakes, but I can tell you that I do my best. I’m just sick of the amount of CRAP that goes on. Yes there’s real issues but then there’s the manufactured bullshit that I’m tired of. Please, all I ask, myself and others: THINK before leaping into anything. Make sure it’s something that you will be proud of doing, 6 months-5 years from now.
Harassment of any kind is wrong. I don’t care if the people being harassed deserve it or not, it’s wrong, nobody has made us judge and jury. It’s like when Jesus said, “He who is without sin, cast the first stone,” and everyone had to walk away because NO one is without faults.
I get the question often why don’t I have certain creators in the group. No, it doesn’t mean I think they’ve botted or done something wrong. It is an invitation to join the group, if they don’t want to, it is their right to decline said invite. People market their businesses differently and this group might not be the direction they take. Also, just because someone WANTS to join the group doesn’t mean they get in. I have my reasons, and they are personal. More than likely, I will never share them. I know this is gonna come out as sounding like a dictator, but I DON’T have to answer to anybody for the reason why I do things in MY group. However. I will promise one thing, I love this group. I ALWAYS try to have its best interest at heart, and not do anything rash. This group is one of the best and friendliest I have found, and for that I’m proud. And it’s not because of me. It’s because of YOU, the group members that make it so.
If you’ve made it this far in my ramblings…
<333 Voshie
I like your post and agree with you 100%..It is happening lately around SL not just in skins but also in fashion… I’m not a creator and I can only rezz a box to glaze at for pictures.. However from my understanding skins/clothing/furnitures..etc are templates and textures sold in SL or Marketplace or wherever.. So the possibility of having similarities in certain skins is very normal… Lately an incident happened to me.. I was contacted by a designer (whom am I blogger of his/her group) informing me that some skins I blogged were copied from XXXX store.. She/He gave me a link in flickr of a person who is doing comparison of all skins and how this brand stolen from the other.. comparing some private parts of the skin with the other.. Then that designer indirectly “commanded” me to remove the skin post or won’t send me any more anything for blogging!!! That was totally like a blackmail.. I’m not into the drama and I blog what I like.. I’m against of course contents theft. But as you said above you are innocent until proven guilty..
Also through your group, a skin designer was making all those WOW OHH for one of her skins showing it in her flickr that it was stolen or copied and that was bugging me.. The comparison first of all was not fair.. If you are wearing the same shape, your butt and your breasts will remain in their position!!! It won’t go up or down wearing skin A or wearing skin Z…
Same designer was actually involved indirectly (or directly) in one of the awesome skin shops to close because the template used of that store was similar!!! It was a drama that the designer of that store announced it through her group.. Was sad to see another great designer leave because of a template and accusations which probably even shouldn’t be there..
This happened also last year against one skin shop… A person (who was not the creator) made a hugeeee story in flickr showing screen shots of both skins accusing the creator of stealing it and such… SL flickertes ( visited that designer stream and just blasted her all over the place.
If they were worrying about content theft what about the reputation and the image of that person?
If really templates are exclusive for certain shop or certain individual, then only one copy should be sold in order to save the world from stealing *being sarcastic*.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention Voshi,,, Skin addiction yes indeed one of the best groups…..
Have great day
Paris Honi
The fact is that even RL law is very hazy about rights, etc, and the notion of “intellectual rights” or “artistic rights” varies around the world. There are no universal or legal standards. We are simply a microcosm of this in SL.
However, the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, passed in the US, tries to address some concerns through the cultural, philosophical, and legal haze. It tries to provide some means to allow people to pursue legal recourse when they feel their rights have been violated.
The DMCA process is pretty universally acknowledged through the internet by American companies (at least by reputable ones). Filing a DMCA is not as onerous a process as people make it out to be–LL even provides a form. However, it DOES require proof AND it requires a real life signature. If you file a DMCA and it can be legitimately documented, LL must remove the offending content.
Legitimate skin designers don’t spew gossip all over the place; they file a DMCA and go on with their business. They don’t fill their days with witch hunts and bullying. Rather than spend their energy on such non-profitable pursuits, they take care of it via DMCA and move on to making more content. They feel their work and time is worth providing a signature and leaving the rest up to legal channels. They also realize that negative talk will come back to reflect negatively on them and their businesses.
If you can legitimately and legally prove that someone has stolen your content, then file a DMCA. If you can’t provide your signature or be bothered to file a DMCA, then you have no legal rights and have no business going to other folks complaining, gossiping, or slandering other creators.
Very well said, Miss Beresford.
Just to add my 2 cents here… I am not a content creator, but I do know about “harassment” in SL. People need to learn that demanding things and being a jerk will not get you anywhere with the strong (and intelligent) people of SL.
I’ve always been convinced that some people log-in to SL just try and take their RL aggression and issues out on others, because they think their avatar makes it so there won’t be any repercussions. If more people filed Abuse Reports (and DMCA reports), those who think about being crass with others, might think twice.