Wall of Shame

My work tends to get stolen, which annoys me severely. The bad part is that it is often at forums where users have to register, at foreign-language websites where I can't do anything about it without a major hassle, at sites that ignore my requests to take down stolen art, or I just can't be bothered - so eventually I put up a Wall of Shame just to publicize everybody who steals my sprites/fics/content/etc. and allow any visitors who happen to speak their language or are members of their forums to yell at them for me (and hopefully thus apply more pressure to take the stolen work down).

Many of them - most of them, really, since at higher-profile sites, thefts tend to get noticed quickly - are just complete nobodies that nobody should get too worked up about, and I'm not too worked up about them. They're just here in the hope this will get them to take my stuff down one way or another because letting plagiarism of any kind be tolerated only fosters the idea that it is okay.

If your site is on the list and you remove the offending content and apologize for it, you may e-mail me about it and I will take you off this page immediately with no hard feelings. I don't believe in holding grudges against people for something they've done, so long as they've wisened up afterwards, and the goal here is to get you not to steal, more than to punish you for having done it.

Currently Known Thieves

For the moment, all known thieves have been dealt with. Good job, everyone.

Know of Others?

If you know of other art thieves I don't have up here who have been stealing from me, by all means contact me and tell me about them so I can either yell at them or put them up here.

Notes on Reporting Theft

  • Firstly, and this should go without saying, make sure it's actually my work. Don't jump up and call theft when you see somebody who spliced the same two Pokémon as I did in one of my sprites unless you've compared the sprites pixel by pixel in a paint program and they're exactly the same (or the thief's sprite is blatantly created by editing mine). This applies especially to the Electabuzz/Aerodactyl sprite in my spriting guide - a lot of people have created similar sprites in attempts to follow my guide, and although posting artwork created by following a guide very closely without noting so is pretty shady, be sure to compare them pixel by pixel before concluding that it's literally my sprite. Of course, if you catch somebody depicting my creations (such as my fake Pokémon) without credit, that is still theft even if they're depicted in their own artwork or writing, and if somebody has merely modified something I made (rewording writing, recoloring sprites, etc.), that's also still theft.
  • If reporting sprite theft, check my Sprite Terms of Use first and make sure it isn't a legitimate use of that particular sprite type.
  • I will never "allow" somebody else to use my work (with the exception of simple sprite recolors) without credit! If you call somebody on theft without credit and they tell you I gave them permission, don't believe them. I always want to be visibly credited for my work.
  • For that matter, every single sprite in my sprite gallery and every single fanfic in my fanfiction section is mine. Nobody, much less somebody who "taught" me how to sprite/write, "allowed" me to put their sprites or fanfics on my site under my name. If they pull that card, it just means they're especially pathetic liars.
  • Also make sure that the person stealing the sprites isn't simply me. As a rule, if the person is called "Dragonfree" or "antialiasis", chances are it is. Unless it's an impostor, and that hasn't happened yet to my knowledge.
  • If you see any of my fanfiction posted anywhere under a name that is not "Butterfree", "Dragonfree" or "antialiasis", it's theft. Period. I don't ask other people to post my fanfiction for me, and I don't use other names when posting it. Don't be afraid of stepping up and calling theft if that happens.

Page last modified August 13 2016 at 02:34 UTC