DA staff show their true faces.

[Sniperwhere]

I read about this on another forum. I'm a little skeptical about it's truth but it's worth looking into.

 

I haven’t written a public update on the situation with DeviantART because I didn’t exactly know what to say.

 

Since sending my initial complaint, I have exchanged over 14,000 words with RealitySquared’s direct superior. Within these communications I literally spelled out line-by-line how RealitySquared’s journal entry managed to unjustly call the majority of fan artists and fan art viewers (myself included) pedophiles.

 

The ultimate result?

 

Because he did not use my name (he just all but quoted me) I apparently have no case.

 

In other words, RealitySquared can label any group of people anything he wants and not be held accountable so long as he doesn't include specific names. At least in theory this is true. When a dA member called out the staff in their journal an admin was very quick to pounce on it. But I’m getting a bit ahead of myself.

 

After the verdict of “no wrongdoing” was handed to me, I attempted to escalate my complaint to a higher authority only to be - I won’t mince words - threatened. It was a polite threat, but a threat nonetheless. Perhaps I was more warned of the consequences of pursuing? I was told that if I contacted other members of staff with this issue I might be accused of harassment. I'll be honest here. Part of me thinks the investigator was legitimately worried that their peers might think this about me and was looking our for my best interest, but another more world-wisened side says that perhaps they just don’t want me poking around causing mischief. In any case, I was encouraged to back off the idea of speaking to someone else. I was informed that there would be no apology from RealitySquared because he didn't do anything wrong.

 

As if that wasn’t enough, I was told point-blank that my *public* posts highlighting the idiocy of RealitySquared’s policy were being used by other staff members as examples of why the site should ban ALL fan art.

 

No, you didn’t read that wrong. THEY WANT TO BAN ALL FAN ART.

 

That’s why I was not surprised to see RealitySquared’s newest journal entry that states they’ve banned all art that includes copyrighted art, such as a scan of a CD cover that’s been manipulated into a wallpaper.

 

This new rule is not just going to hit fandoms. This is going to hit people that make manipulations from magazine scans, photos of famous landmarks (for instance, the Disney Castle or the Eiffel Tower – yes, those landmarks are trademarked. The photographer I partner with on jobs used to work for Disney and knows first hand that it’s illegal to sell some of her work.), brush sets made from promotional photos for shows like Buffy or Harry Potter… The list is pretty much endless.

 

Furthermore, the CEO also sent out a site-wide notice that states staff members can be rude to any individual member they so choose because they’re artistic geniuses and therefore have passions that run high. No. Seriously. Not even joking. I discussed my dissenting opinion on my LJ here, so check that out to view my current issues with THAT sentiment.

 

 

Let me be clear: part of me understands some of these new rules. The investigator was frank that they are trying to avoid Cease and Desist orders. To me, that makes sense. I can totally see their legal team advocating for some of these changes. However, NOTHING justifies RealitySquared’s initial post (he knew it was rude and there were infinitely better ways to convey a policy change - "Sorry, we know this isn't fair and that some of this isn't child porn but..." for instance), nor does it excuse the way in which they are claiming they never changed any “rules” by merely going in and changing the FAQ which explains how the rules are enforced. Um, sorry DeviantART, but in case you didn’t know RULES are by definition POLICIES YOU ENFORCE. And if you think I'm exaggerating when I say he splits this hair I encourage you to read his exchange with InuFan625 where she calls him out.

 

They’re flirting with the thin line of semantics in order to keep themselves out of court and from being forced to give refunds. The fact is that what RealitySquared did could get them sued if they admitted he did something wrong, so they’re not admitting it, hoping it disappears. They’re also hoping that no one will notice their new rules against copyrighted images because people could lawfully demand refunds for their paid accounts. Sure, it says in their ToS (which we all agreed to) that they can change their policies, no notification needed, but in a courtroom those clauses are usually scoffed at by judges because it equates to false advertisement of their product.

 

So what can we do?

 

If you’re an artist that had your work deleted, contact me at [email protected] and I’ll give you the name of the investigating party. I suggest asking immediately to speak with their superior about your case. I have no standing to complain, but if you had private communication with one or more staff members regarding why your work was deleted YOU DO. If you were told that your images were on par with child erotica? You have specific standing to complain that you were directly targeted by RealitySquared’s public journal and unjustly made out to be a pedophile. If you want help crafting your complaint to be the most effective it can be, I’m more than happy to assist you.

 

There are some other avenues in the works but I need another few days before I take them public. I'm in info-gathering mode at the moment, but I'll most likely have something to sign by the end of the week. I’ll update soon.

 

If this is serious, then deviantART must be real idiots. Doing such a thing will not only destroy their rep, but it will result in a lot more that, quite possibly, could lead to the closing of dA.

 

the source of this quote is as follows: http://cyperian.livejournal.com/143149.html

[jaysus]

DA has no rep...

distributors of copyright infringement would fit as a name... and i dont care if they ban all these manga "i wanna see my daughters panties" "artists" (call em what you want... they aint pedophiles maybe but not far away from it..."child erotica" lol whats the diff?) or these 13yr old kids tracing anything they can get their hands on... they should be happy to get banned instead of their "artwork" being stolen and sold for cash...

plain and simple DA is the worst of the worst in one convenient website.. its a wonder they are not being drowned in law suits...

[Sniperwhere]

Same could be said about MySpace. Or even here for that matter. It's all how you look at it.

 

DA has been recognized by a load of companies as a great place to create art profiles when applying for artist related jobs. Sure there's a lot of junk, but there's also a lot of really incredible work.

 

you're pretty much classifying the whole site based on only the down sides.

 

Then again, it's all about opinion.

[XanAlderon]

Boy DeviantArt is on the way down

 

Pity

[DracoRazgriz]

OK if this is true, I weep 'cause that pretty much puts us out of work, at least at DA that is ( makes me glad I use Photobucket for my image storage site ).

 

And what about brushes for Photoshop or GIMP by extension those are copyright infringement's as well due to the fact their base sources are the original products of Copyrighted material. If we were to follow this train of thought And live by them we would never have new brushes and that would just plain limit our ability to make works of art and expressions of ourselves through means of Image Manipulation.

 

This of course doesn't mean I think Copyright Infringement's a good thing ( It's Not ), It's just that It amazes me sometimes at how Overbearing and Self Righteous people can get at times. Rules are good, their there for a reason and Should be followed And they should Not be changed on a whim and a dime, they Do however need to be able to change with the times. That said there has to be a middle ground where It's understood that things have to be kept loose for the sakes of progress and displays of personal expression whether we make it for ourselves or for somebody else.

 

- Raz

 

PS -

And Sniper you forgot YouTube. :biggrin: that's another one that you should use as an example.

 

--Edit--

 

My Dad just pointed out the definition of Copyright Infringement, And I think I should post it so that's it clear what my Point was.

 

Copyright Infringement is when something is taken and used for monetary gains And/Or not giving credit to the Original Author without their Permission.

[dezdimona]

OK if this is true, I weep 'cause that pretty much puts us out of work, at least at DA that is ( makes me glad I use Photobucket for my image storage site ).

 

And what about brushes for Photoshop or GIMP by extension those are copyright infringement's as well due to the fact their base sources are the original products of Copyrighted material. If we were to follow this train of thought AND live by them we would never have new brushes and that would just plain limit are ability to make works of art and expressions of ourselves through means of Image Manipulation.

 

This of course doesn't mean I think Copyright Infringement's a good thing ( It's Not ), It's just that It amazes me sometimes at how Overbearing and Self Righteous people can get at times. Rules are good, their there for a reason and SHOULD be followed AND they should NOT be changed on a whim and a dime, they DO however need to be able to change with the times. That said there has to be a middle ground where It's understood that things have to be kept loose for the sakes of progress and displays of personal expression whether we make it for ourselves or for somebody else.

 

- Raz

 

PS -

And Sniper you forgot YouTube. :biggrin: that's another one that you should use as an example.

 

--Edit--

 

My Dad just pointed out the definition of Copyright Infringement, And I think I should post it so that's it clear what my Point was.

 

Copyright Infringement is when something is taken and used for monetary gains And/Or not giving credit to the Original Author with out their Permission.

Indeed even out of respect,credit should be given,thats why I have had my stories and poems copywritten, my blood,sweat and tears

You'll always run into some admins on sites that think they're god in the flesh ( no Dark0ne,not you).

Your at an impasse,best thing to do is remove your art work and open your own site or use another one

[catmagnet]

Without wasting time on the dA-case in aprticular as I simply have no stakes in that game, but copyrights are not anything praiseworthy. Look at our cultural history, there is simply no base for a case of copyrights to be a tool for encouraging artistic, scientific or really whatever kind of work by ensuring the originators get to grab their share. Historically copyrights stem from medieval prerogatives, plain and simple. In other words, they are from day one on a mean of cutting down competition. This has developed to quiite a ridiculous state of things. I sincerely think we'd all be way better of if copyrights vanished from the face of earth. And I say that as someeone who is beginning to live of his creative work. Again, work is the decisive word here. That's what you should get paid for, fair and square. Its utterly wrong to try to convert the results of said work into something that effectively acts as a kind of capital. We've just recently experienced a crisis in the ffinancal sector because of the attempt to uncouple the generaton of capital from capital from the real economic processes. Copyrights are jsut the same on another level. How arbitrary that is becomes clear if you consider how much collective 'intelectual property' (just another term that is an outright lie in itself) is, to stick to economic terms, de facto expropriated to create individual claims. I call robbery, with the state being the weapon and the pressure groups the arms and hands holding it into our faces. Violatng copyrights transates to de-frauding in my book most of the times. It's mere tactical reasons, that I decided t actually buy my copy of obliviion as it is sometimes adviced to ignore the lesser evil in favor of the genera good, here giving Bethesda an incentive to bring on TES5. That's something the communty that actually makes playing the game (and most of all WITH the game) worthwhile is not capable of under the current circumstances. I wouldn't say it's not feasible, but requires a cuture of self-organizaton we (read that as we, the world's population) are still about to develope. The failing of the business models of the entertainment industry in the age of easy copying is an indicator of its expendability for the society, the way it is enforced by instrumentalizing the law making process a splendid example for what Marx meant by 'the means of production joggle their social chains.' (My rough translation, hope not too much is lost.) Anyway, I do not shy away from saying that copyrghts will be seen by coming generations as just as ridiculous and barbaric as we today judge tithes to be. If we don't manage to turn the planet into just another liveless rock aimlessly circling a glowing ball of gasses that is, of course. There, my 0,02€ on the matter.

[DracoRazgriz]

@ CatMagnet.

 

First a few friendly tips.

 

1) Try to break up your post into segments, It's easier to read that way And makes your post clearer which in turn makes your point come across better.

 

2) Please try to cut down on the misspells. I can understand typing fast can create errors so I can live with them.....and is another reason to use my first suggestion, it helps to catch them better.

 

3) Copyright Infringement is when something is taken and used for monetary gains { IE to make money } And/Or not giving credit to the Original Author(s) without their Permission.

 

4) Copyrights are by definition there to STOP an Author(s), Artist(s), Whomever(s)....work(s),Idea(s), well anything, to be STOLEN and then claimed as their own AND THAT IS CALLED Copyright Infringement.

 

Now on to my main point.

 

I do believe you are misguided CM as it was the Deregulation of the Housing and other various Markets that caused the current economic shortfall here in the US.

 

Now I may have misread this and if so I apologize, but you'll have to forgive me as Your post is kinda hard to read.

( hence the suggestions )

 

Also keep in mind that this thread is about the DA-case. I was just using Copyrights as the bases of my point.

 

- Raz

[DracoRazgriz]

Damn....D-post.

 

could a Moderator delete this post and the one below it please.

 

thank you.

- Raz

[DracoRazgriz]

Sorry T-post.