If you really hate use restrictions on Poser-related items that are not sold for money, start a movement. Write up a set of principles, make a spiffy little logo, and go. I'll even give you a starting point: The Poser Free and Clear Manifesto. We of the Poser Free and Clear Collective adhere to the following principles: All items we make for "free" distribution" truly are distributed freely, with NO restrictions upon use or redistribution by the end-user. We pledge to put all "free" Poser-related items we create in the public domain and specifically disclaim them as such in our distributions, thereof. We do this on the basis of our basic principle that "free" should be truly Free, not only free of monetary cost but likewise free of all restrictions. Then anybody who adheres to this Manifesto identifies himself or herself as a member of the Poser Free and Clear Collective, with a link to whatever website hosts your Manifesto and spiffy logo. Another requirement is that members of the Collective must identify their "free" products as being produced by a member of the Collective, thus letting users know that these items definitely can be used free and clear of any restrictions, present or future. I do not subscribe to these principles, myself, but that would be one way to identify the works of people who do.

PS: I Bryan J. Maloney give official notice that I release the preceeding message into the public domain (just to keep things clear).

Well sounds all fine and dandy and I personally hate restrictions but some are necessary. When I post stuff I clearly state it can be used commercially since it makes no sense to me to release something that can only be used in a private render. What I also stipulate is I don't want what I release to be put on a "pack" CD and sold. Even though its free, someone has to pay to get the CD and someone else profits. I don't want someone scraping up mine and others' work and putting it in a pack or collection CD and selling it. I've had that done to my artwork on several occasions. I do agree that some kind of way to easily identify if an item is free and clear to be used for commerial purposes will save download times and such.

heyas; me, too. stuff 'not for commercial use' drives me nuts, so all my stuff is free for any use. but i draw the line at redistribution.

All my figures can be used in personal or commercial renderings. Like most others, all I ask is that the figures (object files, textures etc) not be distributed without permission. I'm still waiting to see Krysta show up on TV, selling Geicko insurance or some hair care product! Then I can point and say, "Hey, I new her when!" :) Regards- Lemurtek

Hmmm ... looks like I should find my old, dog-eared copy of 'The Fountainhead'. It always amazes me when those that DON'T create a work feel that it's their right to tell those that DO how they should deal with it. Don't like the restrictions, then take the time and effort to learn how to do props/figures/poses/textures and do one yourself. Then you can do anything you like with it. I'd rather close down the whole effort I've been working for the last three years and walk way from Poser entirely then submit to this type of blackmail.

This is my first reply to a post in eons. Stuff given away free should have any damn restrictions the artist sees fit to apply. It's free for cripesakes. The artist should still specify whether the the item is for personal use only, if royalties apply, royalty-free, or if redistibution is ok. However, restrictions on stuff you pay for should be published at the point-of-sale. If I pay for an item, it's probably because I need it for a specific work that I am selling to someone else. I expect some restrictions, but NOT that I cannot use the item in a commercial work. That's ridiculuous. Are you asking me to pay for it so I look at it? I don't care if it costs 50$ or 100$. If I need it for a work, I'll pay, as long as my client can afford it. But I need to know this BEFORE I buy it. Naturally, if the the item is only for my personal amusement, then price matters a little more :) Whether I can only use a payed-for item for in one commericial work, and must pay for additional uses (royalties), or if I can use it in multiple commercial works (royalaty-free) should be specified. These restrictions seem fair, no matter what the original price. Redistribution of the original item, altered or unaltered should not happen, unless the artist who created it specifically gives permission to do so. The American Society of Magazine Photographers (ASMP) worked all this out years ago, and is pretty much standard stuff. I agree with Bushi. Never give up; never surrender. --ratta

its always about the big picture ;) I let people who buy or the characters i give away do what they want but alot of peole give there stuff away as pr or to let there stuff get known anything free should be greatfully accepted and respectfull honered if you create it you should be able to ask what you want of the person getting it for free ! I think people who give things away for free here get a hard enough time without throwing more crap on their backs give em a break

GEEZ, sOMEONE GIVES YOU SOMETHING THEY MADE FOR FREE,And you want to spit in thier face because they only ask that you follow a few retrictions like not selling thier items. Your a Pig

However your little collective will only make it more confuseing to others who are not in your collective, AHHH BUT MEMBERS YOU HAVE MEMBERS?, sO NON MEMBERS CANT USE YOUR PROPS? THIS IS A TIMEBOMB JUST WAITING TO GO OFF I CAN SEE THAT NOW, wHEN IT BLOWS-UP IN YOUR FACE DON'T COME CRYING TO ME....

Well, I guess if anyone is in this group they can't use my free stuff cuz I ain't in the group, and never will be :o)

This is a very touchy issue, only to be entered on with trepidation. You can see that some people are getting upset already. Still, I'll jump in with both feet as usual. I have some passing sympathy with the original post, though I don't know why I should be the slightest bit concerned since I have no commercial interests, and so these restrictions don't affect me. I guess it's just that gifts with strings attached never look quite so nice as gifts without strings, grateful though one may be to have them. Equally I completely understand and empathise with Mason's point of view here. I sometimes wonder what would happen if someone started posting things with really silly or offensive conditions: "This item is free for use by anyone who sings the Chinese National Anthem in the local park at 7 a.m. every day for the next week;" or "This item is free for use except that Jews require written permission from the artist". Would people use them? What if they were very nice things, too? But any discussion of these things is seen as biting the hand that feeds one. Never forget that all the people who post their work in the Free Stuff pages are really really wonderful folk whom we should praise constantly, for if you offend them (and some people round here are easily offended) they will pack it in and take their toys with them :)

You might want to actually READ what DogFace was saying. The (somewhat sarcastic I'm sure) point he was making was the 'CREATORS or AUTHORS' join a club that promotes 'restriction free' use, i.e. use an item for both personal or commercial use. No blackmail, no 'join our club or you can't use it' etc. etc. Personally, while I'm not joining any such group, YES, anyone who downloads one of my characters can use it for personal or commercial use. I'll say this again, when I upload something to freestuff, it's a gift. Like a set of paints, use them to create what you want, your renders are YOUR work, to do with as you wish. I didn't make your render, so if you sell it, I don't feel the need to take part of your sales. I'm capable of using my tools and my own characters to render and try to sell images or animations myself, if I want to go that route. Or I could, and I might in the future, sell my characters. All I ask is that you not distribute the actual characters without permission. Why not? First, because, that's part of my reward for creating this stuff. Although I may not be as good as some of our more talented creators, I do put a lot of work into creating this stuff, and I'd like people to come to me (through the freestuff sections or my website or Capsces webite). Secondly, most of my stuff is modified Poser 4 figures, and I don't want to see Daz get hurt if someone chooses to distribute one of my figures unencoded. That's how I choose to operate. As for anyone else, do what you like, put as many restrictions in your downloads as you want. If people don't like them, they don't have to download them. It's your perogative, but don't be all outraged if people bitch about not being able to use your stuff- bitching is their perogative! :) Regards- Lemurtek

Ok your not a pig but All this stuff about useage agreements on what is OFFERED as FREE is a little ungreatful,When someone gives you something for free with a commercial stipulation then it is only fair to abide by it if your going to use it. I understand your idea, and it may even workout if you do it on like e groups or something with a membership pass, But what happens when the items begin to turn up in places outside your group, Are you going to piss off at people who happen across items that turn up in places like freestuff attached to someones uploaded freestuff figure? or items that tuen up on less reputable sites that upload them as free downloads? Who's suppose to tell what your items look like if they do not belong to your group in cases like that?

BlueRain - I think you are misunderstanding. The idea of the group is that people who join it simply put their free stuff in the public domain so that it is unrestrictedly free for anyone. In other words, they don't mind where it turns up. But re-reading the original post it looks like dogface doesn't actually support his own suggestion. Duh.

heyas; um... what're you guys getting so upset about? dogface didn't say: 'okay, everybody, quit putting commercial restrictions on your free stuff.' he said, 'if you don't like seeing commercial restrictions on free stuff, then don't put commercial restrictions on YOUR free stuff, and then advertise that you don't.' basically. and i, personally, have to agree with this. why? because it is my own principal. i don't like seeing commercial restrictions on stuff -- doesn't mean i dispute your right to restrict things. but when i make free stuff, it does not have this restriction. so i put my freebie where my mouth is, i guess you'd say. :) (note to non-english speakers: 'put your money where your mouth is' is a phrase often used when somebody supports something in words, but not actions. for example, if a person says 'product x is the best product ever produced, buy 100 of them!' but they don't buy 100 of the suckers themselves, you'd say 'put your money where your mouth is,' meaning: quit talking about how much you like it and buy it, if you REALLY mean that.) i dunno, i think it's an interesting idea for artists who want to see more non-restricted items to get together into a 'coalition' to advertise their non-restricted freebie items. i don't think it'll actually happen, but... interesting idea. ;)

A preceding message I posted on this thread in response unwarranted and falsely-based attacks against my honor and intent was unChristian in the extreme and I have, therefore, deleted it. I humbly beg forgiveness for my fit of pique.

ok people i relize that this post is a month old but i have got a little something to say. i agree i don't like the restrictions and being new to poser at all i would like to produce some things (first time out) for my portfolio and possibly commercial use until i learn to do the props/figures/poses/ect. with all the morphing, magnates and the like, (if you are good at what you do) what you are working from shouldn't even be recognizable. yes someone please start the "free from restrictions" collective. i would be glad to join. i personally would luv to see what i created on television or movies ect. (just soon as i learn how to create all that myself lol). and i do agree with those that just don't want it to be sold as a complation. someone is still getting paid for what they put out for free. one other suggestion: put out some really good stuff for free on a regular basis for those of us that cant afford to buy it and still have certin things for sale (ie. animated things, things that took the creator buying new software or such, to create so that he/she can recoupe the cost of the software, ect.) "free" should truly mean free and as an artist i see no reason why it isn't. oh yes and to whomever said something about bribery......if you don't want to be a part of the "free collective" you don't have to be. no one is bribing you or holding a gun to your head.

I'm not sure where I'd stand on the fence with this one. My free stuff does have a non-commercial/no redistribution restriction on them. Why? No reason other than I'd rather be notified if someone wants to use something I do in a commercial enterprise. I have recently added a request that anything used in such an enterprise that a small percentage (agreed between the user and myself) be donated to a children's charity. I'm sorry, maybe I'm being obtuse but I don't see that I'm doing anything wrong by adding that restriction. I don't want a profit from something I've given away for free, but I don't want that free item then used in something that somebody charges for. They make profit from my free item, just strikes me as a tad wrong. If however they're prepared to talk to me about it, I can be an extremely reasonable person. I do add to my restriction that I want to be contacted should any commercial use for anything I do occur. I think it's only fair, and nice for people to tell me that something I've done is good enough for them to want to use. It's encouraging, helps with the gratitude thing and makes it all somehow worthwhile. So, while I do believe that free is free, I will continue adding the restriction to my free stuff provided other people can see the renders/figures/whatever FREE as well, not charged entrance etc... Also, I don't want people adding my few files to some cd collection and profiting from selling that collection. I know it saves others the phone bill, but it also means people are being charged for something that's essentially free - and that isn't fair by a long chalk. I dunno, maybe I'm just twisted somehow.