Avoiding Art Theft and Copyright Infringement

'Souls has many talented members -- some are skilled at photomanipulation and making graphics and others are illustrators or cartoonists. We take art theft and copyright infringement very seriously and make every effort to protect artists' rights.

Copyright infringement is the usage of images without the permission of the artist or photographer. Contrary to popular belief, one cannot simply find an image on Google and use it as an avatar. All images uploaded to the Internet are not public domain; indeed, a majority of the content on the Internet is protected under copyright law. The fact that drawings and photos are easily shared doesn't mean that anyone can use the images for any purpose they see fit.

Art Usage

Any instances where a member of 'Souls is found using art they did not create or commission will be investigated by the administration. If you are using someone else's art, please make sure that:

• The artist allows use of their work. Some artists are okay with roleplayers and other Internet citizens using their images for whatever, with no restrictions. Some artists never want their art used anywhere without their permission. Look for an artist Terms of Use or Frequently Asked Questions list. Failing all else, contact the artist and ask. If they grant permission for usage, save or screenshot the correspondence and be ready to give it to the 'Souls Assemblage if requested.
• You adhere to terms set forth by the artist. For example, if the artist asks for a link back to their gallery where you use their art, do include the link. If the artist requires that their copyright notice remains intact on the art itself, leave it alone.
• Remember that all art not created by you must at least include text credit to the artist. The only exception is if the artist explicitly requests that they are not credited.
• If you do not know whether an artist allows general usage or not, assume that they don't and don't use the art.

Art Theft

Art theft -- e.g., using or claiming another artists' work as your own -- is a bannable offense. Art theft is not limited to just taking an image from deviantART, cropping it, and calling it your own. Editing the original image by adding elements, recoloring, or redrawing parts still does not make the image yours and is still considered art theft.

Photography

At 'Souls, copyright infringement of drawings and illustrations is policed more strictly than infringement of photographs. Original artists are easier to find than original photographers; it is often difficult to root out the source of a given photograph. Obviously copyrighted photographs -- e.g., popular and easily identifiable photographs, those with a © symbol or notice on the photograph itself, and so forth -- may not be used in member graphics.

Members are still highly encouraged to use image search methods that can restrict results to Creative Commons licensed materials. Generally, the Creative Commons license indicates that anyone can use them and require a credit link back to the photographer -- make sure to adhere to the license terms. The Resources Thread provides a list of places where you can acquire public domain or Creative Commons released materials for use in graphics.

Code Theft?

It's a little bit different when it comes to code. In general, the administration has taken a stance that most types of code used in the roleplaying world can't really be stolen. HTML, CSS, and most other coding languages one will find players taking the time to create are actually rather basic -- there are only so many ways a post template can be cobbled together, after all. The same techniques produced across various profile skins, post templates, tables, post logs, etc. can only be reproduced using those same pieces of code. There aren't two different ways to write an ordered list in HTML, after all.

Different players have different levels of code skill, and looking at more advanced code is an excellent way of learning. Modifying existing code and learning how it works is one of the best ways to self-teach code. We encourage players to ask other players before taking any code from them -- it's always polite, after all. However, the administration does not involve itself in the vast majority of complaints regarding coding -- you can always try to make a case, but we feel that in general, coding isn't something that can be stolen.