I have one thing to say about the feed: Get over it. You blogged a thief mistakenly… so what? There’s a lot worse you could do. There are people out there who knowingly blog stolen content.
Apologize to the creator, build a bridge and for the love of God, get over it already. The creator only needs one post to build awareness about the issue – that’s it. Oh, and Laqroki – I hope you guys have already filed your DMCA since the guy seems hell bent on denying it. (Pro tip: File through Linden Lab, not SLX – SLX will expose your name to everyone involved, and we know how much stalkers love that.)
It’s not that simple to get over with it. Besides, I don’t write for the feed but for my readers (and some of them don’t follow the feeds) instead of some blogs that simply write for the feed.
And… until there is a DMCA filled in Linden Labs, I still think this is all a very strange story.
Well, I wasn’t trying to rip on you personally, Ana, or any one particular blogger. I think, however, that this issue has had more than its share of time in the spotlight.
What’s with all this “who’s going to protect the bloggers?” discussion going around? The press in general is never protected; you do have to take responsibility for your own writings after it’s all said and done. No one’s going to “protect” the bloggers. You can’t know in advance what’s stolen and what’s not – only after the fact.
Why hasn’t a DMCA been filed if this is such a big, prevalent issue? Or is it too weak of an argument to file a DMCA?
forget the title “who’s going to protect the bloggers?†who protects the shoppers when we pay money and then things can go out of inventory if found to be stolen. to pay ingood faith and then find out shoppers have been ripped of is the problem – designers can file complains – bloggers can have there say tot he end of time on it all – even if they got the dam things for free. the shoppers – we just get screwed
“I do the best I can based on the knowledge I have – when I know better I do better.”
None of us are infallible, and if the DMCA process – flawed as it may be – is the one we must rely on to weed out the wrongdoers, then we must support it and the proper use of it.
I may be alone in my opinion, but I feel strongly that any one of us who acts as judge and jury… making assumptions or flat out decisions based on a single blog post or anonymous tip, without so much as awaiting response from all parties affected or investigating on ones own, is doing themselves a disservice.
We do owe something to our readers, as far as I am concerned – I owe them my honest opinion, my humor, and the promise that I would never knowingly support stolen content or pass on fraudulent information. What more can any of us do?
I know you weren’t after me, Tenshi. I just wanted to state that I don’t write concerned (only) about the feed. And… I don’t consider myself press; I consider myself a blogger and, for me, they are two separate and very different things. I do take responsibility for my own writings as a blogger and as a person but never as member of the press.
You are right about we can only know after the fact but what bugs me is that the Laqroki creator could have IMmed or notecard some (or all) the bloggers instead of making us make a fool out of ourselves.
Also, I am not making any assumption at this time. For me, the content creator of Laqroki states that the content creator of PXL has used the same base for their skins which was found in emule for free.
I totally agree with Anessa:
What if Laqroki had also found the same base in emule and now claims it’s theirs? What if the Laqroki skins were made *based* on skins of other virtual world? What if the content creator of Laqroki is simply pissed because PXL has been making good looking skins with their base?
I will wait and see what happens.
I’m not a designer but I do read the fashion blogs daily, and I have to say I’m a bit flabbergasted and disgusted to see the attitude of some (not all) of the bloggers with their “oh why me… please protect me” atttitude. For those of us who actually have to PAY for the items we wear, excuse us if we’re not that sympathetic. We know you get the items for free.. we then have it rubbed in our faces that you get them before we can even pay for them.. but now to be confronted with a theft and to want to place the burden of proof on the victim is absurd. Can Mallory (who doesn’t even speak English as her first language) go blog-to-blog communicating what has happened to her .. when is she supposed to actual get any work done, much less file the numerous DMCAs she needs to file.
I think a lot of the problem lies in the whole “review copy” idea. Who in their right mind would receive free items and then say “I received this item today and it is complete rubbish”. No one. So those of us who read the blogs take it all with a grain of sand anyway. Maybe try purchasing the items you receive and then you wont feel compelled to praise to the heavens every single item you receive nor feel ashamed or embarrassed when the freebie you gloated over turns out to be dirty goods. Maybe its time for a skin that has egg on the face.
I’m confused. I’ve now read several comments that say that Mallory should file a DMCA “Or is it too weak of an argument?”.
Did we all read the same blog post FROM Mallory? Because I see where she’s said several times that she has indeed filed DMCA’s… multiple ones against this guy:
“7. This is the skin that was removed through a DMCA. The overall shading is the same. Same shading on the thighs, groin, knees, collarbones. He has kept the nostrils and my handdrawn details like veins and birthmarks. Even the grain in the skin match up exactly. The toes are identical. He has clearly never started from scratch like he said he would.”
“After having seen him selling fake skin after fake skin, I realized that this person had no plans on being honest, he’s just trying to find ways to get away with it. On February 15 I filed a DMCA against his “Crys†and “Linda†skins(picture 7). The skin was now heavily modified, but I could still see parts from my textures, and I had clearly seen how they were derived from my skin. He sent his PSD to my email to prove that he had started from scratch. Knowing my own work and being an experienced texture artist, I could only confirm that it was fake. A few days later the DMCA went through and they removed all “Crys†and “Linda†skins.”
And finally, her explanation as to why she waited to tell people…. which seems pretty damn mature and intelligent to me:
“I’ve been avoiding to write this post, because I’m afraid it will do more damage than good to involve my customers in these disputes. We all come here to have a good time and we shouldn’t have to worry about people stealing and cheating. But I recently had a conversation with a nice person who convinced me to do it anyway. She was wearing a PXL skin and said if she would have known about this then she wouldn’t have bought it. There are people who really cares, and no matter what happens from now on I realized that it’s only fair to let you know. I want to Thank everyone who is supporting me in this. And a special Thanks to Fashion Consolidated for removing PXL as a fashcon vendor according to their Content theft policy http://fashcon.com/2008/05/27/content-theft-policy/ .”
(from Laqroki blog: http://www.laqroki.com/blog/?p=43)
Oh, and please do make note of that last sentence… FashCon’s policy states that they won’t remove vendor’s accused of theft unless provided with written proof that DMCA take-down orders were successfully filed against them.
So where is the confusion about whether or not Mallory has enough proof to file a DMCA? To me it looks like she has – more than once.
I get that it’s pretty frustrating as a blogger to know that you’ve been promoting stolen work. I share that frustration when I found out the night of Aspire’s launch that we featured a designer who has been accused of content theft in the past that we weren’t aware of. It’s aggravating, it’s frustrating and yes indeed it does come back on you as the blogger. At the same time, the SL public has set all sorts of standards of how these things should be handled by the comments they leave in each instance…
We don’t want drama. We want facts. We want proof. We want DMCA’s.
And yet, when someone takes just these steps – she didn’t inform fast enough, wide enough or with enough fervor. So what is it that the public REALLY wants? Only those “unloved” to be accused? Only accuse those that don’t crop up in everyone’s inventory so we can stand on the sidelines and say “Oh see, I didn’t fall for that… I only shop LEGITIMATE content creators” and feel whole and holy in our instincts and shopping habits?
There is absolutely no way that everyone can know every case of content theft out there. Some thieves have perfected the, excuse the term, artistry in manipulating the base files so well that even the original designer has trouble catching it. (Makes you wonder why they don’t just create on their own – but that’s a different post all together.)
What I feel like I’m reading here is a bunch of people who are simply embarrassed that they were suckered and are looking for an excuse to defend against that. The only way that we as a community can stop this trend that will only increase as more and more people become aware of the Lindens available to be earned in SL is to band together, treat each other with respect and dignity and not kill the messenger. Persecute enough people for speaking out and they’ll stop doing it. Create an environment as the press, blogging society, media, consumer that respects designers, respects the processes and isn’t too caught up in their own egos to admit mistake when they’re made.
The DMCA process isn’t perfect. It’s time intensive and, as we all know, doesn’t wield the best results all the time. But it’s what we have for now and we either need to trust in that process or create another one.
“Maybe its time for a skin that has egg on the face.”
Maybe not a skin but a face attachment…. I’ll see what I can do (and I promise I won’t steal anyone’s content!)
@ Susan: I’m a blogger and i totally agree with your statement. I feel weird when I’m given free stuff actually and normally will ether go buy more from the shop if i like it or get to know the owner and invest in the next release. The only time iv really used review copies has been skins and i normally buy a few from the range anyway.
That all being said I’m also a shop owner and review pack are unfortunately a very good thing for us. It doesn’t cost anything to send on and its potential free coverage for something to blogger might not have noticed. I do hand items out to none blogger tho sometimes if i see people in my store who are regulars i might give them a little gift just for being there. Its very curious to see different reactions from people when they get free items actually i normally find my customers are very excited but say certain bloggers sometimes don’t even thank you.
I think part of the issue on “free stuff” is a lot of designers and blogger are friends not for free stuff just b/e they are. I know i know a lot of content creators and we all send each other stuff just b/e it would be weird your friend paying for something.
In RL people are given freebie items more than you might think received a fair amount of goods from a RL brand recently for working for them for a very short period which was rather surprising.
I guess there no way to fix the review copy thing i agree in a way its not fair. But i don’t think ether side whats it to end any when soon.
I made the egg for your face : D
Anyone interested can contact me in SL and I’ll send ya some free breakfast. My avi name is Yuvi Robbiani
Well, Susan, you’re mistaken in assuming that bloggers get everything or near everything for free. In fact, since I started blogging I spend more on clothes and skin that I did before….so if that were the reason for blogging it would be a stupid one. In fact, in the last 2 week I have gotten way more freebies as thank yous for mentioning to designers that their TP’s in their picks are out of date (while testing them for my SLURL directory) than I have ever gotten for blogging.
What I have gotten free for review this week was one preview skin (one skin, not a package), two dresses from one store and a bundle of hair (though that might have been a group gift – not sure). I did the skin and the two dresses, (but not as two dresses but combined into one outfit). The rest of the stuff I purchased myself or got free the same way you would, hanging out by a chair or hunting for treasure or belonging to a group.
But thanks for assuming we are mostly venal corrupt liars.
Hi, yeah just another comment from a fashion blogger. I’m Cajsa’s partner in fashion blogging and I can really see why you might think that everything we blog we got for “free” some how.
I have 23k in inventory and I received less than 50 items of them for free. Probably less than 20.
And the thing is, at least Cajsa and I, blog for fun. We’re not getting paid -I mean really, is giving me an ugly item I wouldn’t wear PAYMENT? I’m not pimping you or talking about your product if I don’t wear it. I’ve got 3 new sets of hair you’ll never see. Because they’re attrocious. But I’m also not going to just be a jerk to the designer and wear them and then trash that person – because they ARE a person and have feelings.
Were I a real, paid professional reviewer – then yeah, I’d wear it all and I’d tell you exactly what I think about all of it. As it is, Cajsa and I only wear stuff and blog stuff we like.
I’m not sure that anyone has any sort of responsibility to “protect the bloggers”……but it’s embarrassing to be us at this point when so much seems to be in question. Why is it embarrassing? I dunno, it just is. We’re human too, you see. And many of us LIKED the skins we were given to review….so when you think MAN I really like these and you tell other people how nice they are – and those people might have BOUGHT THEM…..
well, you feel a little responsible.
If I wear something and tell you how nice it is and you buy it and you just don’t LIKE it – well tough noogies to you. But if I wear something, and you buy it and then POOF one day you no longer have it…….well….
I feel bad about that. I can’t HELP it. It’s not my FAULT. But I do feel bad – because I am not culpable does not mean I’m not sorry and human in this situation.
And pretty embarrassed, frankly.
But in fact none of this is about us, and maybe that is what we all should try to get our minds around, now that we’re moving on from our embarrassment. It’s about content theft, about honor and doing the right thing.
Yeah, I said honor. Because if you don’t have any, then you’re not real – in either world.
I blogged for months on end for my own enjoyment, and as a way to document my evolving wardrobe, before I was ever added to the feeds. So no one sent me a darn thing and my inventory climbed to 25K, mostly clothing items, before I hit the feeds.
I do not consider myself a review blogger, but in the last 2 months people have been sending me review copies. Just becuase I wear some of the items as time permits, does not mean that I do it for the free stuff, nor does it mean I have sold my soul to designers and have no integrity.
I had never even seen the feeds, just a few other blogs, when I started blogging and I had no idea people were sent review copies at all. I didn’t even know I had been added to the feed until Anessa (my sister) told me one day. I resent anyone who suggests that bloggers do this for free stuff, I mean really, who would have time to even wear all the stuff we are sent? I have better things to do then wear 16 wigs and 12 dresses and boots in 8 colours in one day.
Why is it that when bloggers express that they have a certain level of embarassment, sadness, and loss of faith in having possibly contributed to proliferation of an allegedly copied item, do they face a backlash? Are we not allowed to express a sense of responsibility for what we do.
To those ondividuals who say that we (bloggers) are all just a bunch of greedy selfish vain individuals , or as one commentor on Sasy’s blog said it, to paraphrase, ass kissers, are just taking a shot at an easy target. I don’t feel the need to defend my moral compass, you might want to examine yours however.
I am not asking for anyone’s sympathy, I am just trying to ascertain whether these situations are preventable or at least could be minimized.
~ Ketsy
after reading this from bloggers I must say a big SORRY – I thought that u all got more freebies that u did – think alot of us thought that
sorry for THINKING I knew rather than finding out the truth
kristianne matfield: Amen. Just a thousand times QFT. Thank you for writing your post… its all the words that have gone through my mind, too.
@ Casja
“What I have gotten free for review this week was one preview skin (one skin, not a package), two dresses from one store and a bundle of hair (though that might have been a group gift – not sure).”
Which part did I get wrong about bloggers get free shit.. was it the free skin or the free dresses? HmmMmmm.
I agree totally with Kristianne, Cajsa and Gidge.
Funny how a post about another content theft turns into a critic of bloggers.
Funny to notice how bloggers seem to be the only people in sl that everyone is allowed to criticize! Content creators are half gods (sorry, gods’ title are for Lindens) and have just to be praised. Period. Just see what happens in another post here when someone expresses an opinion on fruity shoes. How dare they!
At the same time, for readers, we are spoiled minions and/or asslickers.
Hmmm…double bind… I understand why I’m becoming clinical in sl.
I need to thank Marni for exposing to the public how rude and unpolite we are. That was missing in our description!
Marni dear, I know I’m commiting a crime telling that, but get this: after having spent hours (I mean hours) picking an outfit, shooting it with the right poses and the right light to enhance its qualities and make it look its best, writing down prices, descriptions, and credits, updating the slurl to the main shop (sometimes more accurately than the designers themselves in their profile), notifying the designers by IM and notecard they’ve been blogged, It has often happened that we didn’t get a simple “ty!”
I know, I know… designers can’t be rude and unpolite, they’re just busy…
To come back on the subject, I have been in touch with Hart a few month ago about his male skins. He was worried about content theft. Am I so naive to not believe easily in such duplicity? Maybe I am. Anyway, until proven otherwise (aka successful DMCA procedure on male’s skins) I won’t take down any post from my blog.
I don’t know for other bloggers, but for each skin post I do about a less known product, I get IMs and comments telling me I’m supporting content theft, blah blah blah.
First, each time I see something questionable, I ask the designer from whom I think this or that could have been stolen. I can’t do more, I’m not the police and it’s not my job to investigate these cases. Keeping their content from being stolen is part of designers’ job. Remember: bloggers are just unpolite greedy asslickers, nothing more: I have no time to fight content theft, I’m too busy counting my freebies.
Second, I remember too well the drama when someone dared to release a good quality skin for men (in a time when there was only one good skin for men on the market). The newcomer’s crime was he used a few elements from the same “copyright free” and not exclusive pictures database (3DFK precisely). Often similarities are due to the same cause (I didn’t say “all the time,” I said “often”).
Maybe I will stop reviewing skins. Pure and simple. Skin posts take me double time and even more compared to “regular” ones anyway, and it’s less fun to do them.
@Susan
Why shouldn’t the bloggers receive stuff to review? For designers, it’s the less expensive way to get advertise. I am not going to name people but some of the top designers were introduce by me and a few other.
Like so many others, I only review stuff I like. My work doesn’t stop in the blog posts. I also have a few designers in my friends list that IM me and ask my opinion about outfits. Designers to whom I also give for free my ideas or tips about fashion trends.
English isn’t my first language too. It isn’t even my second. I actually don’t speak (as in talk) in my everyday life.
For a designer it doesn’t cost a L$ to drop a review copy on a blogger. The blogger promotes their stuff spending hours in PhotoShop (yes, hours! I am speaking for myself now). Readers see it and buy which increases the designer’s L$ balance.
So, why shouldn’t the bloggers receive stuff to review? Is the time we spend making a good post less well spend than the designers time?
But this isn’t what this post was about. The issue was that poor bloggers aren’t protected.
I am, like many others, are embarrassed. What I wrote in my blog about this issue was:
I have no problem with bloggers or anyone else receiving review items. My only problem is that as a person with limited linden, I peruse the blogs to see what is out there that is new that maybe I can save up for to add to my wardrobe.
But, it’s hard to know what to buy when every single review says every single item is great and wonderful. It’s like if Seiskel and Eibert (well ok one of them is dead not but let’s pretend he’s still alive) went to “review” movies and lets say they went to see Rocky 18 and they reviewed Sly Stallone’s acting as being stellar and Academy Award worthy.. and then the next week they go to see Waterworld and proclaim Kevin Costner as the next Al Pacino! Well after so many reviews where everything is just so great, it becomes hard to know what to buy.
Be so refreshing to get a truly unbiased review.. and honestly I dont see how anyone can say something is less than perfect unless they are paying out hard-earned lindens to acquire it. Be like cutting off nose to spite face.
And not saying your time is any less important that the designers time. Not at all. Its the “I scrach your back and you scratch mine” that makes it hard to know any more what reviewers I can believe and which I can’t.
Just 2L worth from a reader who doesn’t design.. isnt rich.. but who likes to be as stylish as anyone else and who trust you bloggers to set me in the right direction.
@ Susan
I am not a review blogger, but If you are seeing it on my blog, then I am giving it a positive review, and I would say less then 5% of what I blog are “free” review items. Consider it a review by ommision, if I am not blogging it it is becuase I…
A: Don’t Have Time
B: Don’t Care For the Items in Such A Way That I would Actually wear them myself, even if there is absolutely nothing wrong with the item
C: Do not feel the item is something I can blog and give a positive review so therefore choose not to.
I am not here to destroy anyone’s dreams or crush someone in the early stages of their design career. I do not have time to take pretty pictures wearing items that I will then pick apart. I barely have time to talk about the items I do love.
We are not paid to blog, or take photos, or edit them, or do any of the other things that consume the time of a regular blogger. Why would I waste time and energy displaying items that I don’t feel I could recommend to people, not everyone reads the reviews, they look at the pictures, and the pictures may seem to promote an item I might actually not mean to recommend. If you want to be a “What Not To Wear” Review Blogger, knock yourself out, I choose to spend my time concerned with more positive persuits.
Don’t assume all bloggers do is gush without warrant. We do edit, but it may be by ommision only. Like Ana, if I am wearing it, I beleive it has merit and deserves a little exposure. There are plenty of items I wish I had time to blog to give a similar spotlight to, but I simply don’t have the time for any more… positive or negative.
~ Ketsy
hi Ketsy. Yes, I’m not actually talking about the bloggers who do like a “Look of the Day” type blog like say MichiaMi used to do or Closet Crisis or the type of blog you write, my concern is actually more with the bloggers who do offer a “review” of items. Maybe its just symantics, but to me a reivew means you look at it and rate it by merit.. like a “reviewer” would review a movie. So maybe its just the whole term “review copy” that is goofy as to me that would indicate that an item is given by the Designer to a Blogger for a Blogger to Review or Rate. No?
I would think that most bloggers would be like the others posting here and not wear anything we don’t like. I certainly am not going to the trouble to take pictures in me wearing something I dislike. I do mention changes i wish they would adopt such as putting blouses on more layers, providing 2 collars instead of 1 so you can wear any necklace you want – that sort of thing. But if it’s dreck, I am not going to wear it. I will delete it.
One of my constant issues in SL is that hair creators simply don’t make the hair color I want, so you will see in my style notes the word (tinted) after nearly every piece of hair I wear – a small protest at the lack of my hair color in SL. If the featured clothes in any of posts was given to us for review, we add an icon that says it’s a review to tell you that the item was not paid for.
Now, if I really like something that was given to me, I am not going to mention that it was given to me the 20th time I wear it – but certainly the first time it will be very clear.
I actually take a tad bit of offense to this statement:
Be so refreshing to get a truly unbiased review.. and honestly I dont see how anyone can say something is less than perfect unless they are paying out hard-earned lindens to acquire it. Be like cutting off nose to spite face.
I, for one, take the time to point out the flaws of a skin (or anything else I may be reviewing) as well as the perfections of it. There are ways of saying, “Hey this could use some work,” and ways of saying, “I love this, don’t change a thing,” without sounding like an asshole about it. I have no problem telling you what I do and do not like about your products if you ask me to give you a critical review (designers have asked my opinion specifically for this purpose — if you ask me to be honest, I WILL be… and in every post I do I try to maintain that mantra). And considering I very rarely have review copies dropped on me to begin with (except for skins, which I’ll admit to gladly receiving and reviewing… because god dammit, I’m such a skin whore), I am losing virtually nothing by telling you that I think a seam is horrible or a design is tacky or a highlight is pasty.
I love writing skin reviews, and as one of the first people to review Hart’s skins in November 2007 (and an avid lover of PXL’s skins), news that he may be facing a potentially career-destroying accusation was absolutely devastating to me. And honestly, I don’t blame Mallory for having kept it to herself, these things are best handled privately I’m sure. But I do hope for some sort of future heads up should this occur again… “This guy’s got a DMCA filed against him, be prepared.” Something that wouldn’t allow the blogging community to feel like absolute fools once a year has passed and we’ve all peddled allegedly false content production to an unsuspecting public.
I’ll never stop writing skin reviews, because honestly — that is what I love to do. But I will admit to feeling foolish and heartbroken if this all does turn out to be true of Hart and Co.