I hop you don't think me petty but I was concerned by a particular pair of free items posted a few days ago. I won't name names. These items were tectures for another popular freebie. Whe I downloaded them I discovered they were the jpg tectures from the original freebie which had been tinted to different hues in a graphics pack. Each jpg still had the original creators copyright clearly on it. I know we are talking free here not purchased but surely this is a little cheeky from a moral point of view. The original creator did the work on this texture, which we could tint for our own purposes if we wanted I suppose. However the publisher of the 'new' freebies is kinda claiming credit for something he/she has not really done. What do you guys think? I am being silly or is this simply not cricket?

Yeah I think you're being petty but my personal opinion aside...if the person was really trying to take credit for the original work, I doubt they would have left the original artists name on it...seems to me leaving it in place is a clear sign that they wanted you to know that they didn't do the original work, just the editing of said work.

Welp, I think it's a volation of the TOS due to the fact that they are distrubuting the original creators works. I would point out the particular freebie item to the moderators or to site and let them handle it. If you didn't create it you can't modify it and claim it as yours. most readme files even go so far as to say that the files can not be redistributed. Always a fun topic round here.

OK, I have emailed the moderators as you suggest MachineClaw. This is in the original creators readme "Please do not redistribute the files or a part of the file." so I guess he did not intend people to do this. Dizzie, yeah, I agree, this is a good point. However, I still think that we should all be careful not to go against the wishes of the original creator.

I don't think you are being petty at all. The original creator is the ONLY person who can distribute the work in any form unless s/he gives up that right. Anything else is theft.

No elgyfu, you are not being silly, this is a clear cut case of copyright violation. However noble the motives are, distributing someone elses texture is a no-no. And since it's explicitly forbidden in the readme-text, it's pretty obvious that this is a copyright violation.

Just ask Anton if it's ok to distribute something like V3's high rez textures, only in another hue?! OF COURSE it's a copyright violation. Just becourse I let the DAZ3D stay on the texture doesn't give me any rights to redistribute it. However, in this present case, it may not be a case of conscient copyright violation. Some people doesn't KNOW about all the rules, and even if it doesn't mean you can't be charged for doing so, normally an IM to the member in question can clear up the misunderstandings :o) Always give people the benefit of doubt.

One other possibility. They did get permission. If the textures are the ones I'm thinking about, they've done a lot of these using other products by the same originator.

Good point, PabloS, that is a question that has to be asked first before taking further actions.

Yeah, a quiet little IM or email to the originator should be the first step. Something like, "I noticed that so-and-so was distributing derivatives of your work. I wanted to make sure your permission was granted before I download them" should suffice.

Burn him at the stake! Accuse him of theft! Drive him out of the community! Then, maybe, ask if he has permission from the original artist. Maybe he's licensed to make free items. But, don't listen to him! He's a witch! He's evil! What's that? You think he's innocent? You're a witch too! You're supporting theft! A quiet IM will only solve to stop these kinds of witch-hunts. And we don't want that, do we? We all want these public lynchings.

So, I think you talk about me. If you mean the Koz Hair-Textures, so I'm delete them from my page and I have apologized with him. I did not mean it badly and yes, I don't read his readme. Sorry If you mean the Maya-Textures so here his termes of use from the readme: Terms of use: ------------- All about your artwork made using this: Commercial------You do not need to ask me for permission. Re-distribution (secondary processing/include to your character): Free------You do not need to ask me for permission.However, I am very glad when you report by e-mail. Commercial------Please obtain permission to me. However, in almost all cases, I will give permission.

Wenke, soweit ich das beurteilen kann, hat Koz sich noch nicht fentlich beschwert und Du bist nicht die erste, die seine Texturen recoloriert. Wenn ihn das wirklich sten wde, hte er sich sicherlich schon fentlich dazu gessert.

Slightly off topic here, how do you do the Copyright symbol? Is there a key on the keyboard, I've been trying to figure this out for a long time!

Problem solved and a very nice I'm sorry. Hunt is over.

to get... hold down the alt key & hit 0169 on the keypad

ool! Thanks!

You can only accuse someone of being a witch if they are put to the test and found to not float like ducks or small tiny pebbles.

No 'witch hunt' intended (even though I am actually a Wiccan!) I just think that we all need to be careful not to abuse the wonderful free things we are given here, even though I believe this particular incidence was one of misplaced intention not deliberate theft. If someone gives something freely for us all to share then I jsut think we should be careful to follow any conditions placed on that. I really did not want to offend anyone or hurt any ones feelings - this forum is one of the nicest places there is! Thank you all for your thoughts.

Thought it might be Maya-- I wrote to Maya Studios a long time ago-- before he put up that very clear message-- about recoloring his Surfer hair. He was very nice and gave permission within 24 hours. I haven't offered it yet because I haven't had space-- maybe I could put my files on big-i. I don't just use hue sliders, I throw it in Convolver which is a Kai plug-in no longer made-- it can adjust for more precise changes. In case you ever want to witch-hunt me-- don't bother, I am a witch, third degree initiation.;-) Emily

queri, Looks like we're hip deep in witches around here. grin If you need space for the textures I can host them..email me? Lyrra

You know if they modified Freestuff to have better guidelines more easilty visible most of these problems wouldn't happen. Right now the info is really buried up to two, three and four pages deep. We have sent numerous requests, myself included. Really a slap in the face to ignore the issue month after month. As it is we have to have two or three items removed from FREEStuff every week. No exaggeration. What will it take for them to act????? It is just html code. I am appreciative of the moderqators like CLintH and Lyrra, but is it obvios the owners couldn't possible care less since it ain't their problem. Nice community spirit. Completely disgusted, Anton

Dear Wenke, Thank you for your mail. Well,please don't mind about that.:) I greatly appreciate for your dealing with it. Regards, --- Kozaburo

Well that was nice. Readme and terms can vary from item to item even from the same person. Always emailing the artist in advance is always a safe bet. :) It is just a shame that some who abuse and take advantage have made this subject so important these days to so many people. When I first started doing hair, I cut this woman's hair so short she cried. Boy I really chopped it off. The owner of my salon said: "Look at it this way Anton you'll never make that mistake again." Good advice that applies to many things. Glad it worked out in your case.

Anton, If you feel that the information on copyright guidelines is difficult to find, then where would you suggest we place it? I don't mean the question in a sarcastic way. (If I did, I'd use the word "stick" instead of "place.") The copyright guideline information is linked from the Free Stuff Upload page. We didn't put the entire guideline page on the Upload page because people's eyes would glaze over. If you think it isn't presented well, what would be better?

have a look at the form i did... http://aprilsvanity.com/port3d/freebies/index.php?section=Add+Freebie you choose from 4 license types and that's what gets displayed on the listing page... http://aprilsvanity.com/port3d/freebies/index.php to reduce misunderstandings.

lol. No I'm not as thin skinned as some like to believe. The problem is that there are links to links to links. The pages for info get deeper and deepr. We submitted suggestions and ideas and never got a response from anyone. Personally I think there is just too much text. I think it can be streamlined briefer with DEAD LINKS and TROUBLE DOWNLOADING moved into an FAQ. Specific do's and don'ts regarding free items can be in a brief list of 10 with a clickable link to a detailed explaination. And I would like to point this out. Lady Luna and some others, including that guy that uploaded four Daz hairstyles, got three chances over and over yet this is clearly stated on the second page. --------------------------------- Conduct - Zero Tolerance Renderosity maintains a Zero Tolerance on certain behaviors within the community. These include, but are not limited to the following. Soliciting or Trading of any products illegally. Members/Users found practicing these behaviors will immediately have their membership revoked,

Also I think that the "UPLOAD" button should be replaced with "I AGREE WITH TERMS". Most online video games have this.

...and don't forget: this is an international community, not everyone speaks english or speaks enough english to understand everything.

ignorance of copyrights is not justification to violate them, period. If someone doesn't understand something then there should be a clear simple and easy way with a link etc that a person with questions can ask or get things explained to them so that they can understand. I speak and read english and some of the items in Freestuff have confused ME. says not for commercial use, yet a readme says it's okay, or visa versa, external links to sites where you have to hunt and get pop-ups, etc. Renderosity is not Napster, they do have a responibility to the community as well as to cover themselves.

{...and don't forget: this is an international community, not everyone speaks english or speaks enough english to understand everything. } This is a good point- suppose a Japanese user uploads a new character and you download it. You have trouble with it, but can't read the Japanese readme and the guy who made it doesn't speak English. You really like the character and don't want to delete it, but you can't get it to work right. Since a vast majority of the users here speak English, why not make it a requirement that the provider be fluent in English? After all, they need to be able to read the TOS (written in English) and read any messages about their stuff (also written in English)... not to mention the fact that this site is located in the US. (If the site was in France, I would expect the page to be written in French.)

"why not make it a requirement that the provider be fluent in English? " Why? I go to japanese sites though I am not fluent in japanese. I just have a friend translate the readme's. Why should people HAVE to be anything to be here?

Hey I agree. I think I am fairly good at reading and writing english, but who knows. Perhaps I'm just missing the point. I hope you are trying to be funny with your proposition, JohnRender, but if not, I must say you're displaying a GREAT deal of selfish "typival american" ignorance. I sure HOPE you're joking.... Or do you want to exclude all non english speaking members from Renderosity?

I like those textures, i think Wenke does it well.. :) Its just my opinion but i would personally rather see things like this delt with person to person and not broadcast publicly. Especially as nothing was wrong here. -=SimderZ=-