A complaint

[Katie!]

Unfortunately enough. D=

I was speaking with James earlier today about a problem I've been having. It's not anything to do with codes or the like, you can trust I would have asked Sw33tz. This is regarding a problem I've had for a long time now. Ever since I really started adding flare to my wallpapers on myO, I've been having a lot of users ripping my artwork. This is not what I had in mind here when I started to uploading my newest works. Ripping, I mean. Case in point:

Just the other day, I saw a wallpaper under the category of Kingdom Hearts. I saw the large picture on the left, which oddly resembled one of my recent wallpapers. I downloaded it, to see if the user had actually used what I thought was my wallpaper. Turns out, the user did use it, and I had text at the bottom which was there so it would be hard to rip. The user actually smudged the text (that looked poor, by the way) and resized the image to a degree. The user then went on to take three of my Drive Form wallpapers and combine them all to make one wallpaper. I didn't think much of the forms when I saw them in the preview window, since a lot of people have them now. But when I downloaded it, I could see the blurs behind the figures and unique brushing. I then, at that point, knew that the user had stolen, not one, but 4 of my wallpapers. Of course, I had some friends and myself report the wallpaper (proof links included), and now the wallpaper is gone. Yay.

But the fact that users ripping my artwork has gone on long enough and I don't want it to happen any more because quite frankly, I put a lot of hard work into my wallpapers and it hurts to see them just put back out there and have some other user say, "Oh yeah, this took foreverrrrrr I'm sooo proud of it," when it actually [i]did[/i] take forever and I [i]am[/i] proud of it.

So, moderators, I ask you. Is there anything that can be done to reduce or even eliminate my wallpapers being ripped? At least, could a user get a ban for ripping one another's artwork? I would greatly appreciate an answer from any of the moderators, but anyone can comment on this as well.

Thanks, and I hope something can be done about this on-going issue.

[SunfallE]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue][quote name='PhoenixClawth']So, moderators, I ask you. Is there anything that can be done to reduce or even eliminate my wallpapers being ripped? [/quote]Short of denying other users the right submit wallpapers altogether?No. The moment you post something on the Internet others will take it and use it with out your permission. What you can do is what you actually did, report the problem with links proving it was ripped and we will remove the wallpaper from the category. Which is what I did when I reviewed the report you submitted about your wallpapers being ripped.

With hundreds of submissions on a daily basis, it is impossible for the Moderators to know if a submission is in fact ripped from another wallpaper unless someone reports it with proof showing what it was ripped from. [quote name='PhoenixClawth']At least, could a user get a ban for ripping one another's artwork? [/quote]Actually after so many times of stealing a member does get in trouble so to speak. A warning is often issued for the first offense but after that, depending on the severity of the problem their account is frozen preventing them from being able enter any submissions. And yes if all warnings are ignored a member can end up being banned.

The key to helping reduce the problem is member involvement. There are simply far too many submissions for the Moderators to keep track of them. Which is why it?s so important to take the time to report a problem when you find one.[/COLOR]