Being copied?

Who isn't? Who claims to be 100% original?

This topic is for whoever cares about being copied, about being inspired, about inspiring others.... It is in no way meant to hurt any of you and is not directed to anyone in particular. It is just so that you can think about this issue in another way.

First of all before i start, let me say, this post has nothing to do w/ the dev. team of A&S or IF. i am making it as a member of the section, nothing more. Khushi and Amina are most welcome to close this thread if they wish to. Read this topic only if you are strong enough to face the truth. (Just a side note on everything i have to say, copying your work is different than cutting your work. cutting is like stealing which is not the same as copying.)

Getting back to the topic at hand. WHY IS COPYING SUCH A BIG ISSUE?? You know I supported fights against copying, I supported ANY effort against copying and I was hurt whenever my friends got hurt coz of this stuff. But I had a nice chat with one of my friends who made me realise that all these fights, all this hurt, all this discussions on copying isn't going to change anything. Internet is and always will be free for all. Try all you want, that is not going to change. Otherwise you have to create another internet for yourself. :)

I am done fighting coz seriously when you think of it, who is 100% original to claim that they thought of every idea first? If you ask me only God is 100% original. Sure, you are unique and different individuals but were you the first one's to think of making collages? were you the first one to make signaturess in the world? were you the first one to make icons in the world? Some people put copyrights on the name of their creation, were you the one to define any part of that name (besides your own name) in it? If you didnt create the word, which 100% of you didnt, unless you make up something like "(c)lkjadlkfj kjdfkjd" and define it in your own way, any other word is not yours. Its english, and everyone has a right to it.

What you claim to be your idea (100%), can very well be found elsewhere on the net. People here say they hate IF coz this section is full of copiers. Tell me, what is the point of internet if it isn't sharing your ideas and/or work with others? If you claim to be original do you shut your eyes everytime you see something different? If you don't shut ur eyes your brain is smart enough to register that idea subconsciously (at least) and possibly make you use it in a different way. But THATS IT. IF is just one part of the internet and trust me it is the least bit ugly. The ideas are being copied from all over the internet. I can see so many of the siggi makers that claim to be original to have work that is just a bit different than one of the famous siggi websites on the net. Every one of you is just a BIT different. In that bit of difference, please dont say you are 100% original.

You guyz have gotta learn to let go of certain things. Placement of pictures in siggi's is the same -- SO WHAT? what is the big deal? How many possible way are there to place pictures? Placement of a particular brush is the same, unless you made the brush -- So what? One out of 20 things in a siggi is the same -- that does not make it copied. Try to be above these small issues. Try to let go.

By this post I am in no way trying to hurt your feelings, but I see so many of you hurt by this issue that i want you to think of it in a different way. Copying is bad, YES i agree. siggi making is not the only thing that can be copied, and i know the feeling of being copied. But if you really hate it that much -- here is the hard truth- sharing your work online is something you should reconsider. Internet is a bank of ideas for everyone in the world. You cannot put restrictions on who can see or not see your work on IF, if you want you can make a website, put password - lock it and give the key to only a select few. Unless you are being paid for this hobby you seriously have nothing to lose. Friends that know you, know who is the one that "came up" first with ideas. Why do you care about rest of the world online?? what happiness do you get out of some strangers opinion of your creations?

In short - get over it. I did, and in my opinion life just becomes better if this issue is gone. If not you can fight it for years and many more years and still not make this issue go away completely.... :)

Again, my post is not saying you guyz work hard and you cant ever get hurt seeing your work being taken, but try to not keep that issue on top of your head and keep getting hurt by it. Most of you are my friends and I empathize with what you go through coz of this issue. Just live your life outside IF well, make sure ppl aren't copying you in exams, make sure you are not copying others in exams. if you have an art exam make sure there you are not being copied. On IF, on the internet, the issue does not take as much precedence - at least for me, it no longer does.

Good luck to those that want to continue fighting an endless fight against copying.

thats all i have to say. :)

well said...I think that we as human beings cannot help but be inspired by what we see around us. We learn everything by imitating. As long as someone else's work doesn't look exactly like mine with no originality whatsoever, I can't point it out as copying. With the huge number of creations floating around, I don't think it's possible for anyone to create something new and not have it resemble someone else's work at least a little bit. But that being said, I urge everyone here to try to be as original as possible, and when you are inspired by someone, please credit them. Thanks sweet_kp for making this post. I hope more people can think the same way. Edited by SuhanaSafar - 16 years ago

I totally agree with you Khair di, its not right those of who copies and uses as their creations.... I've tried soo many different ways for my creations.... i came up with a solution too.... Well, hope everyone uses their own brain to come up with individual ideas!!

Priyanka

Excellent post. Finally, some sense in all this chaos. This is exactly my thinking and what I have been saying all along. Does using the same pictures/brushes/colours/sig size mean that we are 'copying' each other? Of course not. Like you said, we did not invent the use of these things, and its not as if, by using the words "Do not copy me", I am being completely original, because it's not like no one in the world before me will ever have used those words in that exact order...its madness.

Stealing/plagarising is wrong, plain and simple. Cutting/pasting sigs is wrong. But to claim that someone is 'copying' you or imitating you, there needs to be something concrete like that for your argument to stand on. Using the same pics or brushes is not necessarily a strong enough argument. The internet is a vast resource but everything on it is finite and available to everyone. What matters is how you use those resources, and occasionally there will be certain resources that will bring about similar effects. But to say that's copying or stealing from someone is like saying that all novels are copied from each other, or all movies steal the ideas from each other. There are 7 basic stories in the world, but we all know that there are more than 7 films in the world. Does this mean, that apart from the first 7 movies ever, everything else is copied? Of course not...its the storytelling that changes; just like it is each person's unique touch to their sigs. Yes, sometimes (very rarely, in my own experience), there are people who will take your ideas and use them to the minutest detail, in which case it becomes obvious that they have just mindlessly recreated something exactly the way it was made before them...that, of course, is wrong.

Thanks for your post - let's hope that more people will take this in the right spirit.

Aww KK
I'm proud of you *hug*

I enjoyed the lovely speech 😃

@psawyer and SuhanaSafar: yes, exactly my thoughts. thanks for putting them down so well!!

@no1pcfan/priyanka: that is not what i was saying...

@pia: sweetooo 😆 thank you, i guess? 😆

~ Totally agree with you, copying on the internet happens everywhere, there are more pressing matters in life other then IF and a few copycats. No one here is 100% original, i totally agree, everyone is influenced by one another, whether in or out of IF, you just have to accept it. But I wouldn't accept copying when the person directly takes the idea and then claims it to be thers, everybody should show a little respect.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Great way you put it forward Khair! 🤗 I never really made good enough sigs, nor did i ever stick to the same style to even realise if i was "copied" ,,, and if i was, i wouldn't care, so i guess it doesn't apply to me... This technically also means that i can't ask others to not care, as i'm not involved here....

But i do agree, and i hope the others here do!

-Sam

Firstly, Fantastic post khair di 🤗

Ok now on the issue at hand. I completely agree kahir, copying is never really going to stop. I being a siggy maker (and im sure others will probably feel the same way)that if my creations inspire people to make/improve their own creations, I feel good that I helped someone. If they obviously misuse it and copy your work exactly then it is Wrong. If you find out then you can take action, but as you said the internet is for everyone, anyone from anywhere can see your work if they come across it, and you may never find out they copied you.

I have had cases of people copying and pasting my creations to make their own - I sent them a nice pm and kindly requested they don't continue to do so. However, I accept i must be being copied somewhere and personally am also so fed up that i just dont care- if copy cats cant respect another persons hard work then what can you do about it?

I agree no one is 100% original, we have been inspired by someone elses creations. Plagiarism is obviously wrong but you cant accuse someone without concrete proof and as you said a few same pictures or brushes in the same position is not copying.

Oh well...There is life outside IF, more to life than just siggy making...Just Live life and accept that Plagiarism will happen - the internet is a huge world in itself after all... Edited by ddddd - 16 years ago

great speech!!
I totally agree!! We really needed this