Tom,
this is my response to your post in the general thread, I pasted it here b/c you are more likely to see this one.
At 2/18/02 05:29 PM, TomFulp wrote:
I also said this on the frontpage but I'll post it here too - the author of the Xiao Xiao fighting game has given us permission and set up an account. Unfortunately we have delayed in switching the credit over.
This is my point.
Now, this is your site and I in no way intend to tell you how to run it, but this is how I see it as a part of the community and a contributor to the portal. Stolen submissions have steadily risen ever since Beth first posted Xiao Xiao #3. I think a large part of the reason was the acceptance of this and the XX movies to follow. It set a precendent that "it is okay to steal and post other people's work if you do it under the guise of community service." I see this sort of submission rather frequently. A perfect example being "Fuck Her Gently" which I was glad to finally see deleted. FHG in particular probably wouldn't have hurt Spumco, but any posting of their Icebox series would have been a violation of their contract and potentially put you both in trouble. This is rare, I will say. Most people probably would be happy to have their work here, but it doesn't count if they don't have the chance to say so. I know that you guys do put forth an effort to contact the creators of many good stolen movies. Yet, the switching between accounts is bogus in my opinion. If a person sees a movie they think should be on NG, they can always email you and Wade. Then you can attempt to contact the author and if he/she agrees have them post it. I personally think anyone submitting stolen flash should be warned, the movie deleted, and if it happens again---they should be banned. This would tell people it is unacceptable to post other people's work (which the submission guidelines say anyway). You could even create a button saying "email us if you know of an animator we should contact or a movie you'd like to see here." I think this would make for a much more artist-friendly/artist-respected NG.
There is also the point that this site makes a profit and it could be argued you are making money off of Zhu's creations without his consent. I really don't think you guys are doing this purposely. In the few years I've visited this site, I've never seen anything to lead me to believe you or your staff have greedy intentions. BUT, if Zhu found out and was angered (which I doubt), he could take legal action (which probably wouldn't happen). I just mention this as yet another example of why people should stick with their own work.
Stolen movies are the only things that really bother me about this site. The retarded reviewers, the bad movies, these are all things I can accept. Stolen movies I cannot. Unless, the visitors know it is never acceptable to post someone else's work, they will continue to do so. Those of us who labor LONG hours to create works of the highest quality we can and even those who are only learning but have big dreams, are insulted a small bit each time this happens. We are insulted a lot if we think you guys let it happen.
I love this site and what it stands for...
That's why I took the time to say this...
