Another site redistributing skins etc without permission.

I know Skinstudio is form Poland.Nothing like having someone in-house...

Agh! Evil copyright/permmision pirates!

While I was looking at the site it went offline.

It looks like a nice site. I was glad to see he gave the author's name on all the pieces. I didn't get to see very much before the site bombed but it looks like there's a Polish skinning community. If he's hosting all the skins it must be pretty expensive to keep it running.

Let's Flog them

it's back... Witaj nieznajomy!

He does host all the skins.

This one looks like a rip: http://pulpit.arx.pl/gallery/show.php?id=711&file=d_711.jpg
it's credited to a guy named nieznany as are most of the wallpapers in the abstract category. I'm sure there are many different artist's work in there under this guy's name.

On this page you'll see treetog's Sptnik Icons posted by "Alanadin" http://pulpit.arx.pl/index2.php?sort_od_real=&sort_od=16&first_page=1&kategoria=&order=down#

This sure looks like one of Nikos' skins http://pulpit.arx.pl/gallery/show.php?id=642&file=d_642.jpg
posted by nieznany

sure is that's Nikos' style, I don't remember the visual aspects, but I remember the name Sirius spelt just like that and the effects and such done in the art work, and rendering look like that of adni, the lines, the shapes, they are his style

My bet is he's just hanging in there...keeps going off-line due to traffic load.....more than 2 and he's knackered...

If someone can get at him in Polish, and get things 'sorted' that'd be nice...

i don't speak polish... but my family is of polish ancestry... im sure that gentleman that runs that site and I could just stare at each other dumbfounded for a while, and then come to a conclusion on what he needs to do... I mean honestly... were polish... we did inven't the solar powered flashlight and such... im not one armed though so waiving won't get me out of the tree...

(no offense meant to my fellow Pollocks)

I am Polish.
I have sent a mail to the admins of the site and will try to settle things out. I am sure they didn't mean to infringe anyone's copyrights and the whole thing went just out of the desire to bring customization trend to Poland. I understand that removing all of the great stuff you guys have not uploaded there will virtually kill the site as it will have much less quality content. Do you think some of you could give them permission to host some of your great work (of course it would have to be properly labeled and linked).

Anyone interested in getting a copy of the mail I've sent to the admins (it's in polish - you've been warned ) please mail me.

some translations:
Nieznany = unknown.
Witaj nieznajomy! = Welcome stranger!

actually that sounds like a great idea...

I know from the peanut gallery does my opinion honestly count?

But seriously, it would be a great thing to help in this way, also, Poland has some very fantastic artists with camera , on page and canvas, I am betting in a short time, it would really explode and raise the number greatly of skilled artist skinners all around.

They do seem to have a real bandwidth issue, 1.5mbit connection crawls here...

anyway....

Thanks Adam, I was hoping you'd appear. I agree, it looks like a site for a community like ours and I would hate to see it be wiped out. The "unknown" author takes care of the biggest problem anyone would have with the site. Maybe we could help him get names and permissions for the skins he has that are un-credited.

As for permission, he only has one of my pieces but I'm happy to let him post it and any others of mine he wants to post.

cool

I would have been perfectly happy to allow him to redistribute my work if he had simply asked for permission first. This 'it's on the Internet, so it must be free to use as I wish' attitude is starting to become something of a problem.

All anyone needs to do is show some manners and ask, and they'll find I'm usually quite a friendly, helpful individual.

I'm not too sure about simply backing down on asking him to remove our work from his site. Yes, it would potentially kill the site, but it would also make him consider his actions and perhaps start another site by going through the right procedures. What's being suggested is somewhat like telling a car thief that he might as well have your car now he's stolen it, as taking it back could damage his 'business'. Obviously it's not that severe, but it's the same principle. If you don't punish, they never learn.

I'm with Greyhaze on this one.

He can host my stuff if he wants....

however the insane amount of traffic he gets from my uber1337 skins might tank his site.
(... and yes I am a horse's ass.)

Just so you know is the kewlest smiley on here.

ok, then what about them tanking everything and then requesting from each author the right to host?

Windows manipulation is completely new to them, they do not have a clue as to what they have done, it isn't like it was an outright rip with the " HA HA I did you over " in mind. actually, it was rather, mindless

It's up to you all how you want or need to approach the situation, and I do know you do not raise a child by turning the head the other direction, but at the same time you also explain what and why, and might even consider a second chance....

I am not calling them kids, but, the learning process with totally new things applies across all ages when someone finds something that deeply hits them as new and wonderful...

What would probably help, is to know if anyone posting has an account on any of the valid hosting site, or are these things people have picked up off of phantom sites? If off valid hosting sites, assuming they can read the flavor of language, then yes, they damn well know they are practicing thief's and do not deserve a second thought...

but if they have no clue, make them clean it up and go through the correct process and then a real lesson is learned, you can beat someone about the ears all you like if they do not grasp exactly what it is they did, it will have no other affect than to instill anger, possibly hatred and very possibly push them into doing exactly what was done out of mistake, except with a vengence...

Or maybe let them get rid of it all, and invite them to the site and the msg board so they can learn the correct way, kinda like skinners across the waters or some such...

anyway... I really do not have anything invested in this situation so I'll just lurk it and keep my thoughts to myself...

The least that he should do is to show a willingness to make amends for unlawfully hosting works without permission.
His site will benefit far more by being a legitimate provider of skins than by thumbing its nose at the community, whether intentionally or otherwise.

He MUST remove any questional works until he has definite permission[s]. Anything less is not acceptable.

one more quick thought...

you realize it wasn't so many years ago these people had to stand in line for hours on end in all kinds of weather for something as simple as food or toilet paper, each item they purchased, each book they read, everything they spoke in public could put them in prison, or worse, vanish...

That is not an excuse, but more of the direction my thoughts and reasoning are coming from, and exactly where my analogy to children and wonderment comes from...

I know they are a more progressive nation now and more so every year, the man across the street from me is a priest that was part of the solidarity movement who escaped after one of his friends ended up vanished and found decomposed a few months later... maybe thats playing into my thoughts also, dunno...
anyway, lurking mode kicking in... and fade to black *poof*

true Jafo, he relly doesn't have any option really, honor calls for it and if he isn't honorable, then he is a common theif without question...

lol ok,, I forgot, I shudduped

lPlural...over the years I have had dealings with many sites and people who have done the 'wrong thing' with other peoples' works....all had 'excuses', none of them 'valid'.
It doesn't matter wher a person is from, or what inspires him to host a site, his ultimate responsibility is to honour the proprietorship of the work he hosts...if and when he is confronted with questions regarding the legality of what he is displaying he is obliged to act accordingly. Clearly work such as treetog's icons, uploaded by some other person is in clear violation of author's copyright. Once notified, he MUST remove it/them.
We do the exact same thing here...and chase up and respond to other cases on our 'related' sites...most recent for me was on Deskmod, for example...

Bad Jafo!

wher = where

Now give me that emoticon of yours.