Recently I picked up a number of textures from a texture store. They’re nice, but now I’m finding myself in the position of not being able to use them.
You see, I realized something. I may be naive, but I would like to think that a good amount of the textures out there that are the original creations of the person selling them -or- perhaps public domain work. Not something that someone has taken from a website and ported into Second Life, directly in violation of the commercial terms of use which state ‘you cannot resell or redistribute these thingies’ (I’m summarizing).
I’m an artist. I’m a content creator. I would hate to turn around and find out that essential components of my work in Second Life can be attributed to what boils down to be artwork taken without the permission of the original creator and sold to me for my use. Now perhaps I am being hasty – perhaps this person has sought specific permission to do what they have done… for all I know, they actually are the original creator of the work… but I’m assuming not.
Where is the line drawn? Is it ok, because the person who created them originally may never know that they’ve been used in this way? The likelihood is that they will probably never know that they have been used in this manner. There is a good chance that they will never see the goods I produce, nor deduce from it that the texture was bought from someone else (reading their commercial use policy, it would seem that I can probably use them in my own creation and sell it as a part of a whole, so long as I give credit where credit is due).
In the end, it comes down to my own judgement as to whether I can use these textures I have bought. I know, as a content creator and an artist, that I would not like to see my creations being taken and then resold on, without my say-so. I also know that I do not want to base any of my work on something that I now -know- has been created without permission from the original creator of these files. How would I feel if I’d made my way over to another grid and realized that all of my items had been ripped and transferred over, laid out as the foundation for someone else’s virtual livelihood? That they were profiting off of the things I had slaved so hard over, while putting in no effort themselves other than to press a few buttons to upload? I would not be happy… I’d be furious.
Therefore, despite the investment, I’m tossing those textures and will not be shopping there again (needless to say). I realize that it might be a little over-moralistic, a little over-cautious, but I just can’t apply one standard to the use of my own work then directly violate it when it comes to another’s – I’d be a hypocrite. I’m just glad that I’d not done anything with them yet.
That is all for today – sorry for the long post… I think it was just something that I had to write about. What about you? Where do you stand on the matter?
