This was come to after some thought, but I will no longer be making model packs for the store. I tried building model packs for people that they could use to build some nice scenes, and keep the price down low enough that everyone could aford to buy them. With a recent search on the net, I came up with 53 places where my darkages kits were being handed out for free. This explains the recent drop in sales, and rather seriously made me deside that the effort to keep prices low and give them some quality items to use is not worth it any longer. I've been jipped doing other things before but never this badly, and I have become discuraged tward making anything else for the public because of it. If someone wants me to make them a item for there own use, that i'll do, but far as making saleable bundles for others I am no longer going to be doing. When people stoop as low to give out items that were intentially made cheep enough for others as to post them for free, thats where i have to draw the line. I haven't desided yet if I will pull the store or not from here as well as the other places that currently have them. Im sorry to those who like my products, and were looking forward to seeing more.

I am very sorry to hear this. I enjoy your items. It is sad when people steal from others and ultimately it is the honest person who suffers. I hope you are successful in closing down those who steal from you....but I do want to let you know that I appreciate your work and that you offered them for a reasonable price.

I'm sorry to hear that! I was lucky enough to get one of your bundles when it was on sale and I have never regretted it. I do hope that you continue making things though... you are very talented and it's a crime to let that talent go to waste!

oh caleb:( im so sorry but i toltally understand how you feel

Caleb, I'm really sorry. I just got your kits recently and loved them. I was hoping you'd make more.

I've bought two of your kits an they were worth every penney... and then some. Sorry about the thieves getting to you. S'pose if it was me I might do the same, but I know that I'd also seriosly consider going after them legally. At least send the letters to their hosts. Then weigh your option from there. And Please consider leaving the store intact for awhile, I don't have all your kits yet...I know there's at least 1 I haven't got. Tax month is a bugger. Good Hunting my friend.

Oh, sweets, I'm so sorry! It's a damn shame :( I've bought your products and loved the prices and the items even more. I hope you'll at least e-mail them and give than a what-for - let them know you're on to them. grrr }:-(

Any interest in naming these sites that are giving away your work for free? I would think that is a violation of your copyright and you should be able to go after them for damages. I also wouldn't mind seeing who else they are ripping off.

I am sorry to hear that, but maybe you should try this first. If it is one of those file 'sharing' services that you found all this at, then try this to bollox up the works on it: Take one of your real packages, and completely screw it up. Texture all of it with bitmaps marked 'thief!!!!!', also detach all polygons. When you repacake it, name it the same, and make sure it is as close to the original size as possible. (If it is small, pad it with notes until it comes to the same size) Then join the service and share it like they do with your real files. Those files will spread quickly. Soon enough, people will stop downloading all of those files because they won't know if it is good or bad and it won't be worth the effort. Do the same thing every time you start selling a new package. It will cut down on a lot of that crap. JDexter

Doh! repacake should have been repackage. Also, just leave your machine on 2 nights a week with it shared, that should be more than enough to get them spread out across the sharing services. JDexter

Man, first of all, you are a scary loking dude, and im 6'3" 325#. There is no way i'd steal from you. Seriously though, i have noticed yer stuff, and had i not been so broke as of late, wouyld have been buying some. I also plan to buy in the future, so i hope they are still there.

Yep i agree mate mine also have been found on the warez scene it is bloodey annoying that ppl try to ruin and steal dolly

Caleb, perhaps you should look into brokering with vistainternetproducts.com. I hope I never have downloaded anything of yours (or anyones for that matter) that were not intended to be downloaded for free. ben

Caleb, Please don't pull them from the store! I'm planning to buy them in two weeks (next paycheck) It's a bummer to hear that your stuff is being ripped off like that :( Lyrra

I don't think it would be a good idea to be posting the sites as Alleycat169 suggested (no offense). The "where can I get Vicky free" crowd would pounce on 'em and make it worse. Who knows who alls MP stuff is on those sites. Sorry to hear about your plight caleb68.

Caleb, I do hope some sort of recourse will be able to be taken against these people who have violated the licensing agreement besides all the residual damage their actions cause (and I use residual not in the monitarily sense but certainly that too). Of course, on the one hand, a lot of people are non-thinking enough these days to innocently want to in their minds, 'share' something they have and don't understand that they're not supposed to - sometimes their, for lack of a better word, stupidity and computer technology enthusiasm causes this. "Oh! I can do this and I can do this" and they go full steam ahead like psychobabble. I've seen it and when told, they've expressed sorrow and removed items... (dumb) But others certainly do this crap will full knowledge. I don't know which case this is but either way it's bad and a shame and it would be a shame to just let it go - especially when you've been as generous as you have been in your products' executions and prices... Distressing...

OK... to answer peoples questions... 1) yes actions are being taken against the people who are doing this. 2) no, im not going to list the sites. 2 reasons, 1. i don't want to see the physical evidence removed till action as been put into effect, and 2. Don't need to be spreading around these sites to people looking for them. 3ddave44 - alot of those people 'play stupid' to get away with it, and just start up another site under another name, this has been proven in the past with a few other people who are now long sense gone from here. talmidben - no, im not going to get involved with a brokering service, i'd just be basically doing the same thing as what i have been doing here just under a 'company name'. JDexter - that wasn't including file share utilties, but i have a couple friends who are doing kinda the concept of what your talking about there for me. ---------------------------------------------------------- because people have stated that they have been looking at the current items i'll leave it up, but won't be adding anything new. Its been nice dealing with those of you who have been honest, and i've tried my best to help those who have bought with any problems they've had. I'll still continue to help those who buy anything to the best of my ability. I'm sorry for those of you who are the good guys in this, its usually someone else who does always screw it up for the others, and this is one of those times. like i said, i'll do items by request only in the future, no more packs. The last thing that i was working on is getting handed to renderosity staff for there magazine. p.s. sorry im such a bad speller ;)

I'm very sorry to hear that you are being ripped off. As a purchaser of your products, I appreciate the quality and the price of them. However, I totally understand your reaction. Just want to say thanks and offer my moral support.

Sorry to hear .. Was still waiting for that awesome looking set that you made. Hate it when a bunch of dorks ruin it for everyone. I am actually glad i don't know any of tose sites or I might get discouraged too

Glad to hear you're keeping your stuff up, I just put one of your packages in my cart yesterday. Sorry to hear you're quitting, your stuff is some of the highest quality at the lowest prices I've ever seen. Thank you for that.

I do think you should share the sites with other vendors if there are other's products that are being made available. Sorry to hear about this. It seems this has been a cyclic thing lately, and one that is part of the nature of doing business with bytes (for what it's worth, I have been planning to buy some of your stuff, but taxes have me on a tight budget for the next few weeks) Please don't remove anything that is currently available, because there are some of us who just haven't been able to buy all that we wish from the market place (but plan to do so in due time....that list keeps getting longer, not shorter) eric

this happens all the time, E stores are based on trust, Thre are some who will violate that trust, But do not let them put you out of business, They win you lose, Why give them that satisfaction?

Caleb, I'm also sorry to hear of your theft problem. And I, too, am a satisfied purchaser of your products. But I have a kind of different opinion of cyber-piracy -- a somewhat radical opinion. I think that anybody who sells via the internet and deals in digital assets has to realistically expect to get pirated to some extent. I'm not saying it's legal or ethical or anything like that. I'm just saying that you have to factor it into the cost of doing business. There's simply no way to stop all piracy. So the real question I have for you is this: did you make enough off of your products to justify the work you put into them? I'm in the process of setting up an e-business myself. And I fully expect to get pirated on some level. The question is, can I make enough profit before the pirates move in to justify the cost of doing business? If I can, then piracy won't deter me from putting my stuff out there. I don't think that in this day and age you can reasonably expect to keep all of your digital assets out of the hands of unscrupulous pirates forever. I'm not saying this is how things should be, but it is how things are. If you are making enough profit (and it's your decision what "enough" is), then I'd just keep making new stuff and selling it, and making profit off of it before the bad guys swoop in. Why cut yourself off from legitimate buyers like me? Why deny yourself ALL profit just because a few people out there can't keep their hands clean? The sad truth is that all digital product will be ripped off to some extent. So factor it into your business plan, figure out how to profit despite it and keep those neat products coming! (See, I told you my opinion was radical. But it IS based in reality!) jjsemp

I am so sorry to hear this. Your models are excellent, well-made and a price anyone could afford to pay for them. I love them, myself. Hope things get worked out to your satisfaction with those who have stolen them. Regards - dragongirl/Skeetz

jjsemp, Actually, it's not as radical as you might think...well it might be for cyber business at this level; however, brick and mortar businesses have "accounted" for it as part of the cost of doing business. Having reviewed thousands of financial statements, I can tell you more than half have a line called "theft" and I'm not talking about the big guys either. These are small mom and pop establishments too.

you know... perhaps i'd have a better understanding of it if I was selling high priced items... but 5 -7 dollar packs that have a rather large ammount of model pieces in them? gimme a break. Thats like a robber walking into a bank and ripping off there free candy bowl instead of doing the bank heist.

Man oh man, Caleb68, this is awful, you do such a great contribution with you work....we also have been violated as of late and it is a shame, more then a shame, just such a violation of such great work. I can't believe that these kind of places are allowed to continue to work. I think the measures you are taking are appropriate though, unfortunately what else can you do. We have also started to think that this is the action that has to be done, but I don't know if it will stop it. We had a person actually buy an item and then shared it with I don't know how many people, I had lost count...how do you know who is going to do what. I wish you well in the future and commend you for your work and your honor. Sharen

I don't know much about the files but isn't there a way to embed a unique identifier/invoice reference to make it possible to identify licenses. ...so that the models and textures can be traced back to a purchaser. People tend to get away with things because they feel there is no way to trace things back...maybe just saying you can trace things will deter the less sophisticated theif...just a thought...more or less in desperation over the loss of people who think of their customers...

No matter how inexepensive or expensive you make your products there will always be jerks who do this. Lots of times they put it out just to be the "cool" one who offered it. I bought your first pack and was amazed at the quality for the price, and have since bought them all. Please don't do this. You let them win if you do. There are many honest people who have not had a chance to buy your stuff, and the dishonest people will still go on. I know it's disappointing, but don't let them run you. You have a great talent for making things look realistic, don't let these morons who steal cheat the rest of us out of your talent. Like I said, I have all your stuff, but I'd sure hate to see new people coming up miss out. Marque

I am very sorry to hear about this Caleb, I enjoy your kits very much. And you're right...it seems extra stupid when you sell them so cheap and they come with so much. :(

Instead of quitting, why not raise your prices? It seems you have enough of a following that may prefer that over not having your products available any more. On another note...every time I see something like this I get on Google and try to find this stuff. I have yet to find a pirate site that has Poser stuff. I've found Poser itself, but not commercial items for Poser. Of course, I always give up after about a half-hour of wading thru pop-ups and links to porn sites and the like. Even if I was the type to try to steal something, all you have to go through to do it makes it not worth my time.

Caleb, Let me say that I for one will miss your products. Have purchased a couple, and am waiting for a week to purchase another I wanted. Best of luck to you with whatever you deciede, and remember that you are much appreciated here. Robin

Either you make some money or you make no money. It's as simple as that. If you're enjoying creating the kits and you're making money on them, why stop? Yes, there are some losers out there who will steal, but only let them steal some bytes, not your enjoyment nor your money.

Lorraine - thats one reason im going to stop and just do them by request for individuals now. There doesn't seem to be any real way to embed them with the files being downloadable at purchase time, besides embeding which site they came from (rosity, 3dcommune, thralldom, renderotica, poserworld, bbay, etc) when they buy them, however on a individual basis I can embed the files as to who the file was made for in a way that the embeding wouldn't be found easy.

WARNING!!! FOUR-LETTER EXPLETIVES USED!!! IF THAT OFFENDS YOU, DO NOT READ FURTHER!!! The sad part about this, which I have raised before, is that it starts here. Lets face it, there are those among us who cause this to happen. There are those among us who purchase the item(s) and then allow access to them for others to pilfer and then to further share. So, not only do we have a thieves, we have two-faced liars and a traitors among us. Basically, we have those who are, pardon the expression, lower than whale shit. And I hope those responsible read this because I think they should know that there are those who think they are truly, truly contemptible, worthless creatures spawned from the universal cesspool. The so-called file-sharing networks are nothing more than pipelines for thieves. They are the cyber equivalent of the typical fence for cyber thieves. And they should be treated as such. Whether it is .mp3s, images, or meshes, it is piracy and theft to take that which you have not paid for. Now, let me be as politically correct and diplomatic about this as I can be, if you are using one of these file-sharing networks for anything, anything at all, you are not only contributing to the problem you are part of the problem. Frankly, if every member of Renderosity would join a cyber offensive against these leech-networks and pass along one virus-infected file a night every night for a month, it might just teach a few of the bastards a lesson. 70,000+files a night for 30 nights. 2,100,000+ million infected files winding their way through their little infestation of leeches Makes my mouth water just thinking about it. But, wait, the politically correct among us will say that would be wrong. Caleb, I wish there were something I could do. This sort of story really peeves me off. I have only purchased your Dark Ages Kit 1. I liked it. It was exactly what I needed for a project. And you provided fixes, service and support for what you sold. There are many who could learn a lesson or two from you on what it means to stand behind a product. I understand your decision. It angers me to think of the cause, but I understand. Every person has that point where they just dont see the point any more. Every person has that point where their trust has been betrayed once too often and they just say, To hell with it! But just so the bastards cant say they totally won, I think Ill purchase the Dark Ages Bundle. Its my small way of screaming in their worthless faces, Up yours with a red-hot poker! Take care and be well. casamerica

Look at it also this way. I don't know the names and addesses of any of these sites. I've never seen one. I've never looked for one. If you gave me the address I wouldn't visit it. If I want something that's for sale, I'll buy it. I won't steal it. The people who will steal it probably wouldn't buy it anyway. So what have you really lost?

phantast... for even one to pop up at least one person has to buy it to be able to give it out. So, for it to of even began, someone had to of bought them. What have I really lost? i've lost alot of the trust that I had with the online community and the belief in there honesty. It doesn't only hurt those who do thieve from people, it hurts those who don't even more. Come monday im taking a vacation, heading away from everything, hopefully it will do me some good. Those of you who have said it, ya this has really burnt me out on alot of stuff, and was basically the straw that broke the camels back.

Well Caleb - I can see why you're disappointed. But after your vacation, come back with a shrug of the shoulders and think, well, that's the way the world is, why should I let it stop me? I'll go on doing my thing anyway, make stuff, sell it.... and if some people are dishonest, that's just the way it is. If you stop, YOU are the loser. Remember that! That means they win. Don't let it be that way. Just the very idea ofit makes me mad as hll. Stealing will always go on, always has. If you stop selling you cut off your nose to spite your face -no one is going to thank you. Tough words, these, I know, and get mad at me if you like, but surely you didn't expect honesty from everyone?? Come on! Put it behind you, shrug, and go on. Get on with what you like doing, to hll with those *ssholes. Seriously. This may sound odd, but if there wasn't a single person interested in your stuff on those sites or purtting it up on those sites, that would be a bad sign - the interest is a sort of backwards compliment to you on your abilities. The stealing itself says nothing about you, only about the dishonest people doing it. News headlines: -------------- The CEO of BMW says to CNN that the company is going to stop making their fantastic cars - 'because people steal them, and that's very, very disappointing.' Nah, I don't think we'll ever see that headline, do you?! :o] So I say.... enjoy that vacation. And if you don't like what I've written, well, okay.... but believe me, it was written with constructive intent. FishNose gets off his high horse, breaks his ankle in the fall :o] :] FishNose