Wall of Shame
My work tends to get stolen, which annoys me severely. The bad part is that it is often at forums where users have to register, at foreign-language websites where I can't do anything about it without a major hassle, at sites that ignore my requests to take down stolen art, or I just can't be bothered - and finally I put up a Wall of Shame just to publicize everybody who steals my sprites/fics/etc. and allow any visitors who happen to speak their language or are members of their forums to yell at them for me (and hopefully thus apply more pressure to take the stolen work down).
Note that yes, many of them are just complete nobodies that nobody should really get worked up about, but honestly, they still deserve to have people know they stole.
If your site is on the list and you remove the offending content and apologize for it, you may e-mail me about it and I will take you off this page immediately. I don't believe in holding grudges against people for some mindframe they were in at some point in time but no longer.
Currently Known Thieves
For the moment, all the thefts I know of have been removed. Score!
Know of Others?
If you know of other art thieves I don't have up here who have been stealing from me, by all means contact me and tell me about them so I can either yell at them or put them up here. :P
Notes on Reporting Theft
- Firstly, and this should go without saying, make sure it's actually my work. Don't jump up and call theft when you see somebody who spliced the same two Pokémon as I did in one of my sprites unless you've compared the sprites pixel by pixel in a paint program and they're exactly the same (or the thief's sprite is blatantly created by editing mine). This applies especially to the Electabuzz/Aerodactyl sprite in my spriting guide - a lot of people have created similar sprites in attempts to follow my guide, and although they might be rip-offs and it's not very polite of them not to mention they were following a guide, be sure to compare them pixel by pixel before concluding that it's literally my sprite. Of course, if you catch somebody using a sprite that's not mine but clearly depicts one of my fake Pokémon, it's a stolen design all the same.
- If reporting sprite theft, check my Sprite Terms of Use first and make sure it isn't a legitimate use of that particular sprite type.
- I will never "allow" somebody else to use my work (with the exception of simple sprite recolors) without credit! If you call somebody on theft without credit and they tell you I gave them permission, don't believe them.
- For that matter, every single sprite in my sprite gallery and every single fanfiction in my fanfiction section is mine. Nobody, much less somebody who "taught" me how to sprite/write, "allowed" me to put their sprites or fanfics on my site under my name. If they pull that card, it just means they're pathetic liars.
- Also make sure that the person stealing the sprites isn't simply me. As a rule, if the person is called "Dragonfree" or "antialiasis", chances are it is. Unless it's an impostor, and that hasn't happened yet to my knowledge.
- If you see any of my fanfiction posted anywhere under a name that is not "Butterfree", "Dragonfree" or "antialiasis", it's theft. Period. I don't ask other people to post my fanfiction for me, and I don't use other names when posting it. Don't be afraid of stepping up and calling theft if that happens.
Page last modified February 22 2010 at 02:28 GMT
