Please sign the petition @Change.org: Linden Labs: Please Reform the DMCA Filing Procedure in Second Life and Protect Creator Rights!
It only takes one person to make a change. It takes many to start a revolution. Stop being silent. Be brave, because where one stands, so will many. Doves flock together and create hope, peace, and unity ~ Taisynn
Clothes
Imp - [geek.] Portable Imp -Black RARE (@Tales of a Fantasy Gacha)
Facial Piercings - :Diamante:&{K} StarDust Facial Piercing (w/ Color Hud)
(Original Mesh) (Has matching lower back ones)
Collar - ~Venemous Rage Designs ~ Leashed! (F)
Shirt - :Forever Young: Shredded Top (black) (w/ Color Hud)
Belt- {C.C.M.} Bad Girl Bullet Belt - Rainbow ($50L)
Shorts - [trs] Crew Shorts . Medium . (@Thrift Shop)(w/ Color Hud)
Stockings - ::Envious:: Faint Stockings Black (Group Gift - Fee)
Shoes - {K} Rebel Boots - Basic *Wear* - Tini (w/ Color Hud)
(Smaller & Resized by Mikayla -- Thank you!)
Wrench - .{yumyums}. Cyber Wrench {Purple} Belt (@We Love RP)
Body
Hair - MOON{hair}. Absence of Fear (Hysteria) - (Group Gift - Fee)
Eyes - . Candy Mountain - eye wrath - field . (Group Gift - Fee)
Skin - Essences - Paris *lumiere* brunette (Appliers)
Freckles - [V] Makeup Enhancement -- Freckle
Mesh Body - ~WowMeh - Style ( v3.0) Insize
Hands - Slink AvEnhance Hands Female - Elegant 1
Feet - Slink Female Feet (AvEnhance) - Flat
Location - Venomous Rage Designs @Rosen
(Thank you Marzanarage for green screen!)
Voodoo Plushie - By the Dark Freddie the speaking Mummy ($125L)
(Thank you ŚĭŇĨŝťẼЯ MїמĺŜŧệŕ (frozen.rage)!)
Standing Pose - [Expressive Poses ] - Rita FREE 3 (Free Marketplace)
There have been so many events going on and so many new releases in June, it is really difficult to keep up with! But I am catching up, especially with this new picture. There are so many awesome, geeky things out there, and it's making me, a geekler, completely squeee every time something is released. You have to check all of these events out. June has so many possibilities for new looks and ideas!
There have also been a lot of frustrations for me. First of all, I'd like to bring attention to the false DMCA attacks between designers. It frustrates me to know that some of the designers I blog for are feeling threatened by the fear of getting whacked off by the Designer Mafia, as I call them. Basically, if you are competition for a similar store, do something to tick of another designer, or get too popular, you get whacked. This has happened to Phat/Cute Azz, Wowmeh, and so many other good designers who are now fighting to get their rights back and defended.
(If you'd like to keep reading, please [click here])
What happens when someone files a DMCA, even if it isn't validated, the designer has to take down that item while they are investigated for copyright infringement. They can counter-file, but it takes a ton of identity checks and a variety of other legal matters to follow suite and protect their rights. For smaller businesses it just isn't worth the hassle, though I'm praying eventually these people will join together and get a lawyer to fight for their creative rights.
I hate this -- I really do. It's the same thing corrupt companies in real life do to get rid of the competition. They file a fake copyright suite to make the other either settle in court or bog them down with legal matters until they go bankrupt. Not only that, other designers are starting to get note of this bad behavior, and think it is okay to do so. It's not okay. They shouldn't have to 'whack off' the other designers in order to be successful. Their work should be speaking for them as a designer.
And if it is not one thing, it's another. Some of the designers have set to cause drama and problems for their competition. A well known website, which I won't name, has been helping these rumors take root anonymously. The attacks go from personal to accusing each other of copyright infringement to any other accusation they can concoct in their heads.
Now, if these accusations have merit, then I'm all for exposing them. I can't stand copybotters or intellectual copyright thieves, but we need to balance the fact that Second Life is a simulator. If we can't take inspiration from our real lives, then having humans and animals in Second Life would be just as wrong. There is nothing wrong with taking inspiration from real life as long as you're taking your own spin on it. You also should be making your own mesh and textures to recreate the item. That's just my opinion on it.
I'm also a firm believer in burden of proof and preponderance of the evidence. I believe that it is not up to the accused to prove themselves innocent; they accuser should be able to prove, by the preponderance, or greater weight, of the evidence that the person they accused is a thief. That is also the rule of law in the United States where Second Life is based in. Just because someone filed a DMCA on someone shouldn't mean immediate removal while they are being investigated. I think the accusation needs to be proved before the item is removed. Give the person accused a chance to defend themselves; let the accused face their accuser. Copyright cases have to do the same thing in real life; if we're protecting intellectual copyright laws, then we should be following those laws like we would in real life.
Truth is a triple edged sword. There's the accuser's side, the accused's side, and the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Whoever has the greater weight of the evidence should believed in this. We should be letting the proof be the truth.
I want to bring attention to this because I want Linden Labs to reform their DMCA filing procedures. I want the real copybotters and intellectual thieves taken down; they are all over the marketplace stealing skins, textures, sculpts, and more, yet they are allowed to continue while the real creators are being taken down. I want the real creators, the ones who work so hard to make this game worth while, to feel protected and safe creating the things they love.
If this doesn't stop, I feel we're going to see more and more good creators disappear. It's not just Phat Azz/Cute Azz affected by this, it's also Wowmeh and a variety of other designers in Second Life. Even if they aren't attacked, we're going to see less and less people wanting to develop and create in Second Life. They'll move on to other games or other ways of creating that will protect their rights. We need this reform to keep businesses in Second Life.
Creators should be working with real-world business ethics because real-world money is involved. They should be creating and running their businesses with integrity, not trying to snuff out the competition with lies, deceit, and theft. I want to see creators grow and be successful because they worked hard to create a good product, not see them go down because someone else had a vendetta against them.
If you feel the same way I do on this, please sign the petition asking Kelly Conway (Linden responsible for DMCA/Legal filings in Second Life) to bring back Luck Inc. and Wowmeh.
I'm all for keeping the peace, but not at the cost of letting an injustice or wrong continue. When I have something I feel strongly about and believe in, I don't hold back. I have to support good causes, especially when cost of my silence means the continued pain of innocent people. I also don't attack people -- I attack ideas I don't agree with. I have a right to share my opinion and have it respected; you don't have to like them, just like I don't have to like yours.
With my Plurk and Twitter pages, people are beginning to see me 'beyond the blog.' I'm not one of those people to just stand by and watch an injustice happen. I often fall on the sword for people and ideas I love without ever expecting the same for it in return. I wear my heart on my sleeve. Some people don't like me for this. Some thing I am just naive or idiotic to thing anything would change by my words.
But I'm just going to say it plain and simple; I'm not going to change being myself just to appease someone. I'm going to change because I want to make that change. I respect all my friends for their opinions; I may not like their opinion, but that doesn't mean they don't have a right to have that opinion for themselves. That's why I love my friends. We're all different and compliment each other. I love my friends for their heart, souls, and minds. I wouldn't want them any different than who they are.
If you do not like my opinion, or the fact I freely express it, you can remove me or stop following my blog. I'm not forcing you to stay. I'll be sad to see you go, but I wouldn't expect anyone to change just to be on my friends list, so why should I expect that from myself?
Sincerely,
Taisynn
Poster by Demeter Lane
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