Copyrights problem on the forum above us

No Dice

No Dice

Charter Member
As many of you know, I had a problem where my work was stolen and included in someone elses work without any ok. It was uploaded to all the D/L sites without me knowing or even being contacted by the butchers.
I contacted "Smilo" and asked him to remove anything uploaded by the "thief". After a quick search, I was told that anything uploaded by the "thief" either was never uploaded to SOH or whatever was had been removed.
I have read the "Important Notice" thread on the CFS2 forum and read his response on his website ( which is just one side).
I hate people that steal, I own a brick business that feeds my family yet I still produce freeware in the sense that It is free according to my terms.
I have no idea what happened up above us that allowed for this mess
, but I must state two things. I will always be on the side of the actual author ( that may be hard to determine on a site that allows uploads, thus requiring investigation)and
I thank Smilo for moderating this forum ( green skirt and all) because we do not encounter those problems down here.

So much for my 2 cents

Dave www.thefreeflightsite.com
 
Unfortunately, all creators that I know have had some of their work pirated, me included.

Before the SOH "meltdown" of a few years ago, I had mounted a "Sting-like" operation against a guy who pretended being the author of one of Ivan's model. He still offers Ivan's creation under his name to this day.

BTW, most of these low-life are depicting themselves as benefactors.

If you ask yourself why such n' such is no longer active, you may have to thank one of those benefactors for it.

If I ever hit the jackpot at the lottery, I know of a guy that will cry blood tears when I'm finished whit him...:redfire::a1451::a1310::crybaby:
 
Repeated Story

I just saw a similar thread on the FSX forum.

Here is a little more of the story on Hubbabubba's sting operation:
I had already emailed the operator of that site with my claim to be the author of some of "His" work. He agreed that I was the author "after some research". He agreed to credit me on the download. Never saw a thing happen, and this wasn't even for money.

A couple years later, Inspector Hubbabubba mounted his sting operation. Operator of that site ended up looking a bit like a fool but to a very limited audience. I believe nothing much has changed. Just checked: There are still at least three of my planes being held hostage there. The fellow that runs this site is proof that "Honor, Integrity, Courage, Strength" are just words because in my eyes, he exhibits none of those characteristics.

The folks that download these planes don't bother me. It is the folks that run these sites that do.

No money is being requested. Just list me as the author which is what is proper. This fellow being described does tend to steal from EVERYONE though.

I have also seen places where pieces (generally the model) of some of my planes are hosted along with a comment like "Don't know the author of this fine model" or something to that effect. That is just aggravating.

This is also why I don't care much if I upload anything any more. My apologies to those that have seen this story the last few times I posted it.
- Ivan.
 
Hi No Dice.

What I am about to write may be a bit contradictory, but it makes sense to me.

I have no wish for you to remove any links from your site. I don't like what that fellow has done to me and to others because I can recognise the work of many authors there. In some cases though, that "Pirate" site may be the only place that is still hosting some aircraft. I don't want the community to lose such a resource even if the fellow running it is some kind of a$$hole.

There are a couple aircraft (nice ones) by a Japanese author. I wanted to ask him if he would allow me to rework one of his planes to remove a bunch of (what are to me) easy bleeds to fix. The email bounced. I doubt this plane is available anywhere any more and certainly not from the original Japanese site. Is it better for everyone if the plane simply is not available or is it better for something like this to be "illegally" hosted when the original author isn't around any more to care? I know I will not be reworking the plane except as an exercise. Pity. It is the best looking Ki-84 Hayate I have seen. (....Oh, that plane is on my build list too.)

His hosting of my virtual aircraft irritates me, but the reality is that his is not the only site doing it. Even if I were properly credited, I would not gain any reward for it. I am not sure I know what the right answer should be in this case.

Thanks for the offer!
- Ivan.

P.S. I just looked over the links at your site. I don't see one for the site I was describing.
 
Ivan,
Here is my 2 cents worth.
As long as the original Readme is included and honored then I think that the original author should have no problems with you " fixing the bleed". As long as the original did not state" not to be altered in any way shape or form".
If you repaint someones plane, maybe you should also include the original textures when uploading the entire aircraft. I have also ran across some without the readme file included or ones written in Klingon, which then requires thought as to upload or not.
As a rule, I think that as long as it remains freeware, all proper credits are given and the wishes of the author are followed ie: only to be uploaded to a certain site(s), then 99% of all authors have no problem with it.
It's the theft of another authors work that ALL of us have a problem with. If an author asks that his plane is never to be repainted pink, then don't paint it pink.

Thats just my opinion.

Dave www.thefreeflightsite.com
 
No Dice said:
As many of you know, I had a problem where my work was stolen and included in someone elses work without any ok. It was uploaded to all the D/L sites without me knowing or even being contacted by the butchers.
I contacted "Smilo" and asked him to remove anything uploaded by the "thief". After a quick search, I was told that anything uploaded by the "thief" either was never uploaded to SOH or whatever was had been removed.
I have read the "Important Notice" thread on the CFS2 forum and read his response on his website ( which is just one side).
I hate people that steal, I own a brick business that feeds my family yet I still produce freeware in the sense that It is free according to my terms.
I have no idea what happened up above us that allowed for this mess
, but I must state two things. I will always be on the side of the actual author ( that may be hard to determine on a site that allows uploads, thus requiring investigation)and
I thank Smilo for moderating this forum ( green skirt and all) because we do not encounter those problems down here.

So much for my 2 cents

Dave www.thefreeflightsite.com
Click to expand...

sorry, i'm confused.
are you saying that the person
mentioned in the ...notice thread
is the one who stole your work?
i'm recalling a different name.
must be getting old.

check your PM box
 
No Smilo, not at all. basically my rant was based on a few things. Mainly the fact that it can be hard to determine if someone has uploaded someone elses work and taken credit for it. It seems as if in the forum above us things got pretty tense. Thats to bad.

I thanked you because you took care of my situation to my satisfaction without any stones having to be thrown and the other members searched thier harddrives and helped me piece my project back together.
Everyone " downhere" worked as a team to help a fellow member " me".

In my case" the person" had altered my Readme file, But if you open many of my textures in paint shop pro, you can read my copyrights. Nuff said.

Dave
 
okay, got ya, now, i understand.
i wasn't aware of the
open many of my textures in paint shop pro, trick.
good one.

the thing is,
we use to have the same go-rounds
down here and sometimes,
things got pretty nasty.
now, those folks have moved on
and we are down to a core group
of helpful, creative people who share
a common love of the game.
yeah, we all have our quirks,
but so what?

as a consumer of freeware,
it's a real drag that a developer
would choose to stop releasing his creations
because some ahole has stolen, falsely claimed,
or modified his work without permission.
i mean, who suffers, really?

granted, i have never released anything,
so, i will never truly understand.
but is seems naive to think
that once offered to the public domain,
a creation will never be tweaked,
or worse, claimed by another.
it would be nice if everyone was honorable,
but we all know that isn't the case.

this might be over the edge,
but, to me, it's like giving your kid a bike.
you do your best when they are close,
but once they are gone,
you no longer have control over them.
i guess one could keep them locked in the closet,
but what good is that going to do?
i maybe totally off base here,
but, right now, that's the way i see it.

-----------:kilroy:-----------
so, enough of that.
i've probably created a fire storm.
we'll see
----------------

ND, i feel the need to let you know
that the CFS2 forum is known as the basement,
which leaves us at an even lower subterranean level.
i've always referred to us as the dungeon,
but that connotes us being in prison.
not so, we are here by our own free will.
aren't we?
maybe we're spelunkers or even morlocks.
 
Hi No Dice,

Actually the readme on this file says specifically that NOTHING is allowed. In fact, even downloads were to be approved, so in theory, I should not even have this plane. Also, even without permission, I could rework it, but it would be tedious. I could build my own in less time and it would be my own. If I had the AFX, it would be trivial to do. I do plan on building my own Ki-84 at some point anyway and it would definitely not be based on this one.

Hey Smilo,

I believe some of that message was intended for me. You are right. I just don't put a high priority on completing projects any more and certainly not testing things to the standard that I would want for something releasable. Mostly this is because of various places my projects ended up.

I thot I had left a messeage to essentially the same effect yesterday, but I don't see it. Must have gone into the ether.

- Ivan.
 
P.S. I just looked over the links at your site. I don't see one for the site I was describing.

Ivan,
I noticed some threads on another forum, I think you may be mistaken about that link not being on my site. I think it is.
Please recheck because I already have and am going to remove it today. I just want you to know that it is off my site.


Dave www.thefreeflightsite.com

PS I had to alter thier logo to fit in the space provided.
 
Hi No Dice,

As I stated before, I don't really WANT you to remove any links. Remove links if YOU like. I am definitely NOT asking for it. His site is the only place you can still find certain things, as I see it, he has a place in the world.

I'll check again anyway.

You're right. I see the link. Again, don't remove it on my account.
BTW, I also see a link to the 320th Bomb Group. Didja know that the Bubbletop Thunderbolt of mine carries the serial number of a plane that flew with them. Look for Wallace Bobblit. His plane was tactical number 06 which was a B-26G in natural metal finish.

- Ivan.
 
Link removed

Ivan said:
Hi No Dice,

As I stated before, I don't really WANT you to remove any links. Remove links if YOU like. I am definitely NOT asking for it. His site is the only place you can still find certain things, as I see it, he has a place in the world.

I'll check again anyway.

You're right. I see the link. Again, don't remove it on my account.
BTW, I also see a link to the 320th Bomb Group. Didja know that the Bubbletop Thunderbolt of mine carries the serial number of a plane that flew with them. Look for Wallace Bobblit. His plane was tactical number 06 which was a B-26G in natural metal finish.

- Ivan.
Click to expand...

Ivan,
The link has been removed on behalf of ALL of the CFS community that cares about "freeware".
As far as the "certain things", I will be glad to host them "as long as they have the original read-me files.
Of course many of the basic files that "everyone in the world" has already downloaded may be on my site only do to the fact that they had no readme files when they were sent to me by the authors 10 or so years ago. I still have tons of stuff to review, but it has taken me a long time to find a zip drive to add to my newer computer so I can read whats on them.

I have around 500megs of free space on my site, it's piggy backed to my commercial sites. And as mentioned in previous threads, The Adds on my site are free, I put them there as a thank you to the companies that dug back thru thier archives to help get me back on track after my away period. Most of them supplied me with what I was looking for for "free".

I will be happy to have an IVAN page but I have "assumed" you only upload to SOH. I will Pm you later on a unique thing you always add to your planes.

I would also like to state: IF ANYTHING on my site infringes upon someones copyright and it is brought to my attention, it will be removed first and investigated later.

Dave www.thefreeflightsite.com
 
Hello No Dice,

I have only ever uploaded stuff to Here. It isn't a matter of restricting distribution, it is more a matter of being able to observe statistics. There was another site (Hubbabubba probably considers it with justification a pirate site) that also hosts my aircraft with my permission. The operator of that site has always been quite courteous to me though not to my friend Hubbabubba.

- Ivan.
 
Hello All,

There are a couple planes I am working on that might run afoul of copyrights. I had not thought of this while I was working but please let me know what you all think.

In the past, I have simply set the panels for planes I have built to alias to another stock aircraft that came with CFS. No one should get upset about that. Currently, I am checking if the panel that is being aliased to is really appropriate for the plane.

As an example, for the P-40, The panel for the P-51D is a fairly good match for most things but the fuel selector is wrong. The tank arrangements on the P-40 are identical to that of the stock FW 190A. My solution was to make a copy of the panel directory contents of the P-51D and reconfigure the Panel.cfg to use the fuel selector off the Focke Wulf. Problem now is that the Panel.cfg and BMP files are all Microsoft property.

Can I distribute these panels? I know that others have taken entire stock aircraft and just repainted which meant that the model was stock. The USF aircraft had all stock flight models with different visual models.

What if the panel background came from CFS2???

Opinions?
Is there a precedent?
- Ivan.
 
Precedent yes !, So long as the gauges, panel backs ect. are used within the " microsoft framework" of sims you are ok. I no longer have the SDK's but....with the release of the sdk's microsoft expected and encouraged add-on developement.
I am sure if you made them for a "non-microsoft" product you would get a boil on your hinnie though.


Dave www.thefreeflightsite.com
 
Ivan said:
Hello All,

There are a couple planes I am working on that might run afoul of copyrights. I had not thought of this while I was working but please let me know what you all think.

In the past, I have simply set the panels for planes I have built to alias to another stock aircraft that came with CFS. No one should get upset about that. Currently, I am checking if the panel that is being aliased to is really appropriate for the plane.

As an example, for the P-40, The panel for the P-51D is a fairly good match for most things but the fuel selector is wrong. The tank arrangements on the P-40 are identical to that of the stock FW 190A. My solution was to make a copy of the panel directory contents of the P-51D and reconfigure the Panel.cfg to use the fuel selector off the Focke Wulf. Problem now is that the Panel.cfg and BMP files are all Microsoft property.

Can I distribute these panels? I know that others have taken entire stock aircraft and just repainted which meant that the model was stock. The USF aircraft had all stock flight models with different visual models.

What if the panel background came from CFS2???

Opinions?
Is there a precedent?
- Ivan.
Click to expand...

Microsoft® is giving restricted use of its copyrighted material by necessary implication. The company condone this in its own publicity and creates programs, such as CFSCONV.exe, and tutorials (SDKs) to do exactly that; import and export models from one game to the next.

This is what they call "open architecture".

There was another site (Hubbabubba probably considers it with justification a pirate site) that also hosts my aircraft with my permission. The operator of that site has always been quite courteous to me though not to my friend Hubbabubba.
Click to expand...
I don't know what calling me "Hubbaboner" in my modified copyrights and calling smilo "smiload" in my credits is, but "courteous" doesn't come to mind...:kilroy:

Wait until you say no to him, and we will see how long he will remain courteous.
 
I don't know what calling me "Hubbaboner" in my modified copyrights and calling smilo "smiloads" in my credits is, but "courteous" doesn't come to mind...

I am trying not to laugh! The one site has been removed from my link section, the other I never allowed a link.
FYI to anyone that wants to go thru the trouble, the org that issues the .com names ( name does not come to mind, should have looked before I posted) can and will have sites removed from the internet for copyright fraud. Normally all it takes is a cease and desist letter to the ISP though.

Jusy my 2 cents worth,

" Hubbaboner of the pilots of the round table" just don't sound right, LOL

Dave
 
frankly, i am more than a little disappointed
in the lack of creativity for my pseudo.
i mean smiloaf, come on.
smyload, smiloink or smyloins
are much more teenage
and, at least, might raise a grin.

smiloaf...hmph
 
smilo "smiloads"

Who would have the nerves to pick on a pooch that wears a brush hat and a to-too.
Someone should contact the ASPCA.

Love ya Smilo,

down boy, down


Dave
 
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