Stealing things using the internet is practically as old as the internet itself. Perhaps that’s why so many people are comfortable with it. Actions such as saving pictures from someone’s website (which Google images has only made easier), ripping full scale websites and coding, pirating software and downloading videos are extremely common and have practically become the norm.
I’m not going to lie and say that I haven’t done some of the above – the majority of us on the internet have. It’s so easily forgotten that someone spent a lot of time working on something whether they took the image with their camera, spent 5 minutes doodling a picture or hours and even days designing and coding a website.
Last night, I was reminded of a different type of content stealing – one we face daily on Second Life that’s done more and more often and maybe even by people you know. I’m talking about something known as “Copybotting”.
What is Copybot?
To put it plainly, to “Copybot” something means to take a product you didn’t make and have no permission to copy or modify, and create an identical product by exporting it to your hard drive and import it back onto the grid for your use. This isn’t limited to objects made of prims, but also applies to clothing, textures, sculpts and even scripts.
There’s a lot of information about what Copybotting is and what it means for the content creating community. I’m not going to write about any more than I have because I feel in doing so, I just give the issue more power. If you want more information about the subject, feel free to go look it up for yourself. In fact, if you are a content creator or plan on becoming one, you probably should familiarize yourself with what you may be up against.
Let’s Get Personal…
Yesterday, a resident I recently met told me of his dream to have a huge, self-hosted simulator where he and his friends could just go to hang out and have fun. Not a bad dream… in fact there are many resources for doing just that. But then he told me he wanted to copybot more stuff so he’d have it to use for this self-hosted simulator.
I watched him click on things all over my land – products Alia and I had created, decor from other businesses and even unfinished products that he’d have no use for and had no business inspecting. I have no way of proving that he stole these things, but I’ve got a pretty good hunch that he did and have reported it to Linden Labs accordingly.
But that wasn’t until I had a conversation with him about copybotting, to get an idea of whether or not he was serious or if maybe he was just trying to impress me. Unfortunately, he was serious – although he basically claimed that he doesn’t know how to copybot (never mind I guess that his AvMatch.com profile says “::VIVA LOS COPYBOT!::” as the first sentence.
So here’s the conversation…
Him: lol i copybot?
Sookie Slafford: We had an entire conversation about you wanting to copy items from SL so you’d have them for your own server. lol
Him: thats prolly not going to happen
Him: and even then i would have to figure out how to copybot
Sookie Slafford: Even so, it’s kind of the fact that you even would. :/
Him: ah i see
Sookie Slafford: To me, that’s stealing. I think about the things I make on SL and the amount of time that goes into it… to even just make a texture. I think about the amount of money I make from SL and where that money goes. I use SL to pay for things for my daughter, and it’s kind of like someone saying it’s okay to steal food out of my kid’s mouth. I know that’s kind of a drastic point of view, but I do take my work seriously.
Him: yea i understand your point
Him: well i guess i screwed myself then on something i wasnt even sure id look into
Him: a what if thing
Sookie Slafford: Sorry. :/ I just can’t help but feel that way about it. I’m not gonna lie and say that I wasn’t once tempted. But some of the work I do takes up so much time and talent. And especially in thinking about why I do it in the first place. To think anyone would think it’s okay to just steal that really upsets me.
Him: you get your stuff digimarked?
Him: like protected and stuff
Him: it will help for here
Sookie Slafford: All of our sculpts are alpha protected.
Him: what about the texture work that you do
Sookie Slafford: There’s only so much marking anyone can do to their products. And our textures are basically useless to anyone just looking to rip those off.
Sookie Slafford: Regardless, no one should be doing that anyways.
I want people to really look at this sentence because since I said it, it’s been ringing in my head all evening and morning…
“I use SL to pay for things for my daughter, and [copybotting] it’s kind of like someone saying it’s okay to steal food out of my kid’s mouth.” – Sookie Slafford
It makes me wonder how many other people use Second Life as a form of income. How many of you reading use even the little extra cash it may bring in to buy your child diapers and food or maybe even just a new toy? I heard of many parents using the extra cash to buy Christmas gifts this past holiday season, so I know it’s not abnormal that someone would use that money on their children.
What about disabled people, like myself, who can’t work a regular 9 to 5 and rely on the income of Second Life in order to pay the bills and support for their child(ren)? I know I spend more than 8 hours per day at my desk working whether it be to create products, work on graphics for clients or to market myself and my products. When you steal things I’ve made, you’re stealing my hard work… the countless hours spent at my desk in between my sleep attacks… the potential for income that could be going to my daughter.
If you really think stealing stuff I’ve made is more important than food on my daughter’s plate, please contact me. I’ll give you the damn item for free.
Let’s Connect!
