Yule Ball on Smmo

I think 'in the real world' when you create something using stock items you've purchased , the focus is on delivering a finished product to your customer. In art communities, you're 'delivering' a process and by posting something on the board you're claiming credit for it unless you state otherwise.

That said, they have to draw the line somewhere. You don't have to credit fonts, for example, and it's generally assumed that you're starting with a pre made typeface. People who do their own lettering typically mention as much.

I think smmo's rules are tolerable, though I also sometimes feel that some people want to get away with as much as they can and putting such specific technical rules only encourages that. In an ideal world people would just be entirely forthcoming with sources, inspirations, process, fonts, everything, but for various reasons that doesn't happen and the mods are stuck trying to find a balance.

*smiles* I should probably leave it there.

The need to...well fake your skills I guess you could call it...is to be held in a higher level at SMMO. They don't encourage it officially, but I think in a lot of places, people respond to the really talented people. Couple years ago it was basically just Julie who did poser work. People fell over themselves to be her friend in hopes of a picture/gift. You'll find that anywhere. So you have people who want to be put on that pedastal and have flat out lied about credits. I can think of one person of a particular higher status there on smmo that did it last year.

What can you do? I don't blame Jenna/Lirana and their crew for really enforcing the rule. It's mostly because of those people and they're protecting themselves from artists going apeshit by allowing it. We allow celebrity images, Smmo refuses to. It's a thin line saying 'oh if its credited it's ok.'

I don't mind anyone enforcing rules. Sometimes there's a witchhunt quality to the whole thing that I don't like, and on the other extreme I think there's some looking the other way, but hey, like I said it's hard to strike a balance. I think in a big community like that it's harder to control the bullshit - one of many reasons I like TAC is because there's some good faith and people pretty much know each other, so there's no point to shenannigans. *thinks* I do think you kind of put your finger on what left me feeling a little disillusioned though. No hate toward smmo, sincerely....I think that mediocrity is just never a comfortable place to be and that particuarly shows up in places where there's this obvious (obvious, to a mostly lurker) pecking order.

Of course the rules are tolerable or I wouldn't be hanging around over there.

I'm certainly new there and havn't wittnessed the evolution of the rules or the board. I will say they make me very self consious about what I post and the work I show. I probably have a ton more freehand work that I'd share but I'm not sure where I got the inspiration, or if I have a record of the sources or if I even care.

I guess what I saw here was something being discussed that had sort of bothered me which I didn't and don't feel comfortable talking about there. I certainly didn't in anyway mean to bash SMMO or the good folks there.

LOL its ok Lunna, I am a regular complainer against over-regulation. I personally don't think I should have to credit my work, if someone is interested in what I have used to make an image, they can ask me. That's just me though.

How much do you have to credit? I mean, I use the bish morphs alot, as a starting point. Then I twirl and swirl dials till it looks like how I want, sometimes I add in some more targets from another morph pack. When does it stop being someone else's creation and purely mine?

I don't mean to imply that I wouldn't credit the morph makers, merely that at some point its not recognizeable as their work anymore due to my input. I personally think that I should be able to post an image which is composed of say, various 3D elements that I have bought and rendered, and not have to keep a list of which items I used. Heck, I have used all 4 of xurge's M3 armor in one current image, and blended them to suit my artist view of what look I want to achieve. Do I have to credit all 4 armor items? or break it down to the very surfaces I have included and excluded from my render? See what I mean?

Its just easier if someone wants to know what you used, they can ask. /shrug

Naw, no disrespect to smmo at all. Like I said, you'll find that anywhere there are more little fishes than big fish, so to speak. Here, well I hope there are no cliques...but then I guess there are. It's not that TAC is more tolerant of being copyright rules, that's not it at all, but I think a smaller community makes it a little more relaxed, I guess you could say.

I dont know, but the reason I don't post art on smmo is because I can't get c/c5, but then I forget to post my work here too hehe, which I should do now that I think of it. I guess over here if someone posts something and forgets to credit this that or the other, we know its not to elevate their work. It's not like any of us wouldn't be able to recognize the poser piece or level of talent.

Really I suppose the whole thing can be chalked up to what someone told me once. If I don't like it, then make my own board. Well, I did. Just more or less a different shade of the same ole color.

I'm rather vague with my credits I guess, but I'm not going to pick apart each and every aspect of a picture's make up. I put way too much stuff in there sometimes to credit each and every bit. I do try to remember as much as possible and at least put something that will trigger me knowing where I got it. I do the credits for me, not them. I want to be able to look at something I've used before, and know without wracking my brain -too- much what I used to acheive a certain look. I put credits in my description when I post the pics on my own gallery, so it's just a matter of cut/paste where ever I post my work. I didn't do it at first, but I try to do it all the time now.

And Lunna, don't sweat it hon I'm sure no one around here thinks you were bitchin' bout anything that hasn't already been bitched about before lol

Yeah seriously Lunna, it's all good =D

*nods* my 'the rules are tolerable' remark was just me throwing out my own baseline - I certainly wouldn't dictate what others find tolerable.