#copybotting

Thank you for sharing this @wisebeardcowboy. I asked my creator friends in the SL community to check it out, and it appears a lot of it is ripped off from the What Next SL store. Particularly the set you shared is 100% ripped from What Next, down to ad photos.

Is it possible that the Balman Store (ts4) and What Next (SL) are the same creator? If so, someone please correct me and I’ll take this down. But, it DOES appear to be stolen mesh.

The past week has been white here at home whilst my virtual life has turned to spring. Video of sunshine below after I have had my two cents. Anyone who follows my blog and YouTube will know of the web site I discovered that is basically ripping off the Youtube platform and hosting videos there but monetising then for the site owners benefit. Much of the content is associated to some porn…

I was informed that the head and abdomen of my Muffet avatar was ripped along with spider parts(and skin) made by AmbiQT, and being given out as a set. I am absolutely not okay with this.

Normally, I’m indifferent to people copybotting my things if they would like to edit something they have purchased from me. Or even editing something a friend has purchased. But handing them out to people who have not purchased the avatar really effects my sales. The avatar did not just come into being in a snap. No one paid us to create the mesh or textures. We did it out of love for the game. We decided to have people pay for the work. As the creators of the mesh and textures, we have every right to be angry at someone giving away stolen work.

So I ask, if any of you come across a copybotted version of my Muffet head and abdomen or AmbiQT’s spider leg parts and skin, please delete it. Do not use it. Do not hand it out. Request that whoever is giving it out delete it as well.  Please do not allow this behavior. We are taking our own actions against this currently, but there’s only so much I can actually do at this point.

image was sent to me a couple of days ago showing the wings I made awhile back selected on some guy's avatar

the box in front is showing the object profile, depicting the object owner and object creator's names (the creator name should obviously be mine)

this is what a copybotted object looks like. I contacted the person guilty of it and here's the conversation that followed:

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[18:33] Kazuhiro Aridian: hello! I'm concerned about a set of wings a friend of mine has alerted me about that don't seem to show the correct creator on them when inspected. could you tell me how you came about obtaining these wings? they look nice on your avatar, by the way! cheers

[18:40] Kiba3007: you mean the replica wings that i imported from blender to match his to get him annoyed

[18:40] Kazuhiro Aridian: to match whose? and where did you get that Blender file?

[18:42] Kiba3007: i'm standing next to the guy who's fierious right now >.> over some girl well if you mean the scupty maps from numerious sources

[18:43] Kazuhiro Aridian: look I don't want to start anything with you but you have got to understand that copybotting is illegal and a bannable offense

[18:43] Kazuhiro Aridian: the wings that have been copied are my own Archon wings, which were made in Maya

[18:43] Kazuhiro Aridian: the only thing changed on them have been the flexi feathers, which have been removed, and there are 4 instead of 2 wings

[18:43] Kazuhiro Aridian: there is no "multiple sources"

[18:44] Kiba3007: so why ask a question you already know the answer too XS

[18:45] Kazuhiro Aridian: I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt here and give you a chance to talk to me before I do anything

[18:45] Kazuhiro Aridian: the fact that you've just lied to me makes me a bit uneasy

[18:45] Kazuhiro Aridian: I don't understand why you would even want to lie to me??

[18:46] Kiba3007: Other than its what most people do lol

[18:46] Kazuhiro Aridian: that's bullshit

[18:47] Kiba3007: No not really there is no one one trial that would plead guilty if u can get away with it. But other than that yes sorry for lying.

[18:48] Kazuhiro Aridian: well if you only mean to use my wings to annoy some guy then could you at least do me the service of deleting them entirely from your account and from your computer when you are done having your fun?

[18:48] Kazuhiro Aridian: and please do not do this again?

[18:48] Kazuhiro Aridian: I can't verify this from my end at all, I would have to trust you on this, which I don't feel like I should

[18:49] Kiba3007: Well they are already gone other from my avi i do not sell these things anyway

[18:49] Kazuhiro Aridian: it doesn't matter that you don't sell them

[18:49] Kazuhiro Aridian: I sell them because I created them

[18:49] Kazuhiro Aridian: you have just stolen something I have created

[18:49] Kazuhiro Aridian: and you need to delete it

[18:50] Kazuhiro Aridian: look if you fight me on this I'm going to have to report you for it. just humour me and delete them

[18:53] Kazuhiro Aridian: if you wanted a pair they cost less than a dollar and they're copy/mod :/

[18:58] Kazuhiro Aridian: look I really have nothing against you. you seem like an alright person, and I doubt that you'd ever want to use this tool maliciously, beyond poking fun at your friends

[18:59] Kiba3007: lol hes no friend he lost that out of jealousy lol

[19:00] Kazuhiro Aridian: what I'm looking for is that you understand that copybotting at all, regardless of the reason, involves taking the risk of the person whose work you're copybotting finding it and getting you banned. it's illegal according to the TOS and taken very seriously by Lindens

[19:00] Kazuhiro Aridian: I don't want to get you banned, so please, please, just work with me here

[19:02] Kazuhiro Aridian: are you going to delete them? from SL and from your computer/online storage?

[19:05] Kazuhiro Aridian: I'm not going to sit here while you ignore me

[19:13] Kazuhiro Aridian: I'll be filing an abuse report because you have refused to comply. have a nice evening

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just want to put all this out there: this is a common mode of thinking for people who steal work for just FUCKING STUPID reasons. most people don't think they're doing anything wrong at all, and when approached about it, they try to play the victim card or "you're overreacting it was just a prank lol"

this is so fucking bogus