I don't know if we collectively do it, but if I'm voting and see that a design has been copied, I'll give it a 0.

Yeah I guess I'd give that submission a 0 but I'm not sure I'd go after the rest.

Yeah, I wouldn't go out of my way to do it.

Yea there has definitely been down voting for people caught voting.

Shhhh! These are unwritten rules, man! If we blog about them then they will be written!

I completely trust that everyone in the community traces the IP address of plagiarists and determines the home address, to within half a block, then orders (with the copiers own credit card) a ton of raw sardines to be dumped on their driveway and/or lawn.

Ill give a zero to a stolen design, then maybe, if I happen to notice they have other designs up for scoring, I'd likely give said design a lower than warranted score.

but I think I've only done that 2 or 3 times. It's uncommon for even established, trusted artists to have more than 1 sub at a time, and I'm unlikely to even remember a copier's account the next time, unless it's brought to my attention.

maybe I'm naive but have we ever deliberately attacked a user by down voting the rest of their submissions to make sure they dont get printed?

If I know that one design has been plagiarised, I will look much more critically at other designs, as there is reason to suspect that they are not the submitter's original work. That being said, I don't deliberately give lower scores to the other submissions if they appear to be original.

I will vote the design a 0, but that's on principle... threadless cannot and should not print it, so I can't award it a number. I guess it's more like a red flag, rather than some collective attack?

I'd never go and vote their other designs all zero though, unless they were all plagiarized too.

I only vote zero on the designs that are proven stolen.

Those of us who do regularly vote remember people and also follow the stolen artwork blog. Usually these people will do a repeated offense and continue to steal artwork, or will get caught and never return. Or maybe they return under a new account, who knows. The bloggers are pretty vigilant though and with the internet, it's getting more and more difficult for these people to get through without someone recognizing the art work from some other source when it applies.

I will totally give someone the benefit of the doubt and only hold a lapse in judgement against them on the particular design which is fraudulent or copied or whatever.

and I think that is what the survey was asking about - at least that is how i interpreted it.

I also consider the down voting, "that's stolen" blogs and comments as more of the systems ALERT to the staff. staff cannot possibly get through everything - so the combined might is like an organic self defense against idiots

also benefit of the doubt only applies if the person in question is not a total douche about it all

then I'm like

zerroooooo bitches

oldschool gangster

the problem with the stolen artwork blog is that people tend to call someone out before a rip is proven. sometimes the sub in question isnt a rip at all, yet people jump to conclusions and trash the submitter.

wish there was a ban hammer for the legitimate rips though.

There was a young girl recently who was obviously influenced by something she had seen and others called her out on it. She did it in her own style though and she had a consistent style in previous submissions. After hearing her side, I chalked it up to her just being young and not really knowing the rules. She was rather apologetic about it after being called out. I could almost see myself doing something like that when I was younger and not really knowing the rules. I used to draw a lot of fan art type stuff, so I could see myself thinking, this looks cool, let's slap it on a tee!

yeah, i don't think people should start yelling 'rip' until they know for certain. that's really lame.

not so sure about that eric, because the stolen blog can become a platform for the discussion. I find most of the time the people who care i.e. notice and participate in a stolen blog are generally very fair and reasonable folks

there have been several times where it is discovered that the original in question is actually BY the submitter - and everyone it all gets sorted out pretty quickly

also - as an adult and knowing the stupid mistakes kids can make I am one to really be optimistic and hope the situation is a lesson for the perp and they live a life knowing the true value of originality

again to me the reaction and interaction with the artist on the submission page and blogs give insight into the intent and understanding of the situation, it is all quite reasonable with typical levels of nonsense and trolling

mo is spot on as usual

I used to draw a lot of fan art type stuff, so I could see myself thinking, this looks cool, let's slap it on a tee!

Ohmigosh, yes.

People—especially younger kids—coming to Threadless from a fanart community could easily have totally different expectations of what is/isn't acceptable. There's whole internet subcultures out there where redrawing an image (as close to the original as possible!) makes it your own work.

You'd assume that they'd intuitively understand the line between "Hey I can copy this really well, give me props for that!" and "Hey I can copy this really well, give me money for that!", but that isn't always the case.

i still never got over Thunderbirds after watching Top Gun a hundred times one summer. F U Nic Cage!!!!


....wait for it...

ISABOA on Jun 08 '11 at 10:22pm
not so sure about that eric, because the stolen blog can become a platform for the discussion. I find most of the time the people who care i.e. notice and participate in a stolen blog are generally very fair and reasonable folks

Its not so much the discussion that goes on within the 'rip' blog that bothers me, its when its taken to the submission page. For instance, if you called out a design in the submission comments, then later apologized for false accusation, its too late. The damage has already been done. I've seen this happen a few times.

you should post that up in the rip blog xiv. i think you have a good point.

i agree xiv - the rip needs to be a proven rip before people make judgements and comment on the actual sub as that defo does damage that persons score for that design and possibly their whole reputation which isn't fair if it turns out not to be a rip.

this could all be fixed with a "report inappropriate or stolen" button on the subs. plain and simple. It'll raise a red flag for the staff to moderate.

very valid point xiv

happens all the time

*marks blog inappropriate or stolen*

I require proof before I take any sort of action.

I haven't often been one to oust anyone, but if there's proof of theft -- I simply mark the design a 0.

I don't go out of my way to track that person and make sure all their designs are 0's. I can understand that some people don't fully understand how far is too far in copying.

most people tend to downvote once they know its a rip, I vote up because i know it wont print

People should also make sure an image isn't public domain, because my understanding is that it's ok to incorporate those into designs. This one was listed on the rip page and started unfairly receiving rip votes. Threadless must have removed the comments out of fairness to the artist.

I always thought the t-less community was quite forgiving

I mean, designs tend to get judged on their own merits rather than on the past actions of the designer

Unless they're by EmmyC.

that was shameful shit on behalf of the community

tesco on Jun 09 '11 at 5:57am
that was shameful shit on behalf of the community

I couldn't agree more. It was really jarring to see the community turn into a huge petty mess, and at the time I remember it bothered me a lot.

Back on to copycats, especially what Mo and Mismonaut said about the younger people who come from a background where using stuff they didn't come up with is totally fine and brings in viewers and praise in most cases. Contrasting that is the seasoned designers who are familiar with how the industry works and whose standards can sometimes seem a bit harsh.

Sure, the community sometimes has clashes between the two... but for the most part, the young ones are happy to learn, and the old dogs are happy to teach.

That's one of the the things I like about threadless... it might be a little tough to start with, but once you've got the way it works it feels like you've earned it. I guess that's why the community just doesn't take well to people who waltz right in... it upsets the balance?

tesco on Jun 09 '11 at 5:57am
that was shameful shit on behalf of the community

TOTALLY. that was a total shitstorm. i hated it, it got very ugly.
i always feel like a naughty kid when the staff have to get involved.

I think the rip blog has had a few mistakes, but normally we are spot on. For every design we've made a mistake on there are 20 more we've caught and got taken down or forced to end early. One thing that would help is making people fill out profile information and have an avatar before being able to submit. The most recent mistake was mine and it was because I couldn't tell if it was the original artist from teefury or not because he hadn't filled out any profile information. It is hard not to just assume a faceless nameless person is stealing when they put up something that has been printed elsewhere.

I agree with you Lucas. I know threadless loves to have more and more people register, vote and submit but surely a bit more profile detail and at least take the time to post an avatar! all those faceless, nameless 'members' tend to come across as bogus!

all those faceless, nameless 'members' tend to come across as bogus!

Well, it isn't as though they owe us to post an avatar. There's no contract that says "You must be an active community member for your vote/comment/submission to really count!"

(Though I agree that recognisable designs from a new account send up red flags.)

Personally I didn't feel like a registered member until I posted an avatar even tho' it's not a pic of me!

I just think the blanks look like visitors who don't plan to be around for long! (Like everyone's friends and family members who only come on to vote a particular design..haha!!)

I always feel like a naughty kid when the staff has to get involved in my n00dz

I just think if you are going to submit a design there is nothing wrong with being required to fill out some profile info. Name and avatar at the very minimum. This is a community driven business, and faceless nameless people don't really strike me as part of the community.

bogus or not, those faceless people are where alot of the votes come from. you had to have an avitar it should only be to submit

just tell me who it was and where it is. i'munna go all apeshit on 'em!!!

jk

I've always been more of a copydog person

It's impossible not to make mistakes from time to time, but the persons that participate in the rip blog I think we do it for doing the better for all and not the wrong, we could jump and say that's not yours! but we prepare our case, we research before we say something.

Avatars, help but still, but not always recently there was a case of a repeating borrower that ended up closing up her account.

The really only thing that helps it's being sometime here and learning the dos and don'ts, be willing to learn and suck it up if reprehended.

You will always have a next time, and people can have in their head more than just one stolen design.

martiandrivein on Jun 08 '11 at 10:48pm
this could all be fixed with a "report inappropriate or stolen" button on the subs. plain and simple. It'll raise a red flag for the staff to moderate.

Definitely. That's an important feature (available on a lot of art websites) that would mitigate the risk of errors. I made a mistake too and I feel very bad about it.
But until there is a report fixture, I guess we have to comment on the sub, if only to warn the ripper that he's been spotted. The blog doesn't have enough visibility.


Regarding 3D Parrots, I have to strongly disagree with Myteemo. In fact I haven't got over it yet. Grrr.
This design (and many others like it) relies on voters / buyers being unaware of the actual design origin, and thus admirative of the drawing skills of the 'designer', as reflected in comments. This (imo) is cheating, pure and simple, as well as artistically lame.
All it would take to make it acceptable would be acknowledgment by the submitter (in this case, that they scanned a book and added clipart 3D glasses).
And what about an acknowledgment by TL on the product page too? 'Wear this awesome 1860 Gustav Mutzel design on your skin!'

This also raises an interesting legal question: the design itself may be PD because old, but what did the designer use as a basis for his scan? An original engraving he actually owns (that's ok) or a modern reprint in book or poster form which itself is subject to copyright? Did Tstaff ask?