[QJ's note: This article isn't meant to attack or insult anyone, although I do get kind of worked up about this particular topic. I just want to point out that this isn't some generic topic that happens "somewhere out there." It happens right here in the SW:CCG mainstream. Maybe you don't particularly care, but I think the theft of original thought is not only wrong - it's also pathetic.]
For those of you who have read a few QJ Speaks articles, you've probably begun to notice that a lot of what I write about is inspired by things that annoy me or make me angry. So it should be no shock that this is another one of those articles. Here's what's bothering me - the blatant lack of respect for other people's intellectual property that had become most evident on many SW:CCG Web pages. It would seem that it's become so very difficult to come up with original material that some SW:CCG webmasters have simply decided to steal it.
Though I'm sure it's been happening for a while now, the first time I ever noticed original material being stolen off of a page was when Beakman noticed that Kaya Kenobi had taken Xelf's Top Ten Worst cards directly off of Xelf's page, replaced Xelf's name with his own, and posted it on his own page. Not only did Kaya take the article, but he didn't even bother to change the unique language patterns that were in the article because Xelf's first language isn't English. When confronted, Kaya's defense was that he had removed some profanity from the original article and was therefore the "editor" of the article. Never once was Xelf's permission asked if his article could be reproduced, edited, or copied. To Kaya's credit, after he had been harassed via e-mail and on the BBS, he removed the article and replaced with his own top ten.
Yet another example of this Web stealing occurred two weeks ago when Obsidian of Black Sun took it upon himself to reproduce the entire text of Jerry Darcy's article about Special Edition that was published in the most recent edition of Scrye. For two days the Special Edition article was featured on Black Sun as some sort of accomplishment. In fact here's what his update said "Whoopee! The Special Edition article is finished! Here's a link: More Scantily Clad Dancers Than You Can Shake a Stick At (Even a Big Stick). Remember, you saw it on Black Sun first. If you want to put this on your site simply LINK TO MINE! Don't steal my code, it took me a long time to re-write that! (Doll aka Obsidian, 1998)." Of course all of us know that not only is it ethically wrong to reproduce someone else's published material, it's also very illegal. A couple of BBSers repeatedly told this guy that it was illegal, but he said he would "keep it up until someone said something." It would seem that Obsidian- Black Sun finally figured out that it was illegal too, because two days later he posted the following. "I must also sadly inform you that I'm removing the SE article until I hear from Jerry Darcy as to whether he gives me permission to post it. This is supposedly a violation of copyright laws and since I have no desire to be sued I think I'll be cautious. Sorry if you didn't get the chance to read it" (Doll aka Obsidian, 1998) SUPPOSEDLY???!!! The guy ripped off an article from an internationally distributed magazine and it's a "supposed violation" of copyright law? Whatever. To Obsidian's credit, he gave both Jerry Darcy and Scrye credit for being the originators of the article.
Do you think that Black-Sun is alone in his practices? Have you ever taken a good look at Dagobah Clouds' articles page? Do you really think that Tom Lischke writes for this guy? Not only does Dagobah Clouds still have the Special Edition article up on the page, the webmaster has a collection of Scrye articles that have been posted without permission. Go through your box of old Scryes and take a look at the article by Chuck Kallenbach on page 22 of issue 5.3. Dagobah Clouds' webmaster must have spend a lot of time retyping the article "Official Tournament Sealed Deck." I actually asked the Web master of Dagobah Clouds if he retyped the articles or got permission to reproduce them. He said that he just reproduces them and hopes no one minds. Well that's all fine and good, but I'd be willing to bet that Scrye, a magazine dependent on people buying their magazine would mind. Scrye probably pays for most of its articles, so why should some kid with a computer and time on his hands get to copy them for free? To the Dagobah Clouds webmasters' credit, there are articles on his page by Nick Robinson, better known as UroRRuR'R'R, that are reprinted with permission from the author.
As much as I wish those were the only three examples that I could think of, the next one hit a little closer to home. A little over a week ago Beakman noticed that two of the original decks off of Beakman's World had been stolen off of his page and posted on The Outer Rim (the site maintained by "Master Admiral Thrawn) with new names and no credit to the original designers. Both "Dagobah or Not" and "Muscians and Droids" can be found on Thrawn's page (alias Master Admiral Thrawn, 1998) and were copied exactly off of Beakman's World. Since the decks were given to Beakman by two local players here in Gainesville, there was no way that this was a simple case of double submission. Beakman e-mailed this guy and asked him to take the decks down, but offered to give him the e-mail addresses of the authors of the decks so he could get their permission. Instead of acting mature about this, Master Thrawn just changed a few cards in the decks, added a note that the original concept is from Beakman's site, and kept them up. The funny thing is that when he stole the decks (both of which require an in-depth explanation of how to use them) he didn't even take the strategy that went with them. Furthermore, the changes he made to the decks weakened them considerably. Anyone who goes to the Outer Rim should know that it's possible that all of the deck there are just pathetic reconstructs that you could find in their entirety on other sites.
While I'm pointing my short, chubby jawa finger at other people, I'll go ahead and admit to a little unethical behavior of my own. A couple of months ago, I was looking for a graphic that would visually portray the way I felt about people who complained about the content of my articles. Eventually I stumbled on "Jawa Force," a net comic that had a great graphic proclaiming "Never Piss Off a Jawa." Perfect right? So I did what most people would do - right click, save as, and presto, the graphic is mine. Never once did I give any thought to the fact that someone had put a lot of time and effort into creating that custom graphic. Well a little time went by and all of this copyright stuff came up in the SW:CCG community. I started to feel a little guilty and more than a little hypocritical. So I took a chance and e-mailed the artist who created the graphic, told him that I liked his work, and wanted to know if I could keep the graphic on my page as long as I gave him credit. Less than a day later, the artist e-mailed back saying that he was flattered that I wanted to use his picture and granted me full permission to use the graphic.
While there are many legal aspects to this topic, that's not the issue I'm addressing (although I'd be happy to explain it further to anyone who's really interested). I am talking about the violation of ethics that occurs when people in the SW:CCG community steal original work or post original material without permission. It makes me absolutely livid to think of someone sitting in their living room thinking "Hmmmm, haven't updated today, I'll think I'll go article shopping on Decipher's page or Beyond SW:CCG or Beakman's World." Worse, I can't believe the gall of people who think they've put a lot of work into an article that they retyped out of a magazine. Taking decks directly off another page or out of a publication is just as lazy and wrong. The fact that these people are thoughtlessly ripping off others' thoughts and ideas is an indicator that they don't really want to contribute to the SW:CCG game - they are interested in generating hits on a Web page. It shows a lack of an ability to think for themselves or to generate sufficient submissions to fill their pages. Further, it's a lack of respect for the process of creating original ideas - it's anti-creativity.
As a writer, there is something very special to me about putting my original thoughts down on paper or on the screen. Whether it's an article in which I talk about clear sleeves versus black backs or an academic paper comparing symmetrical communication strategies versus asymmetrical communication strategies, it's very frustrating to think that someone could or would just come along and steal something I'd written without even asking my permission. I'm sure that the webmasters of these sites will come up with great excuses for while they chose to steal other people's thoughts and work. Maybe they think they were too busy to write something themselves; perhaps they were just out of their own ideas; what about trying to compete with the "big boys" like Beyond SW:CCG or even an inability to attract submission? Regardless of the excuses that people come up with for their reprehensible theft of articles and decks, there really is no excuse - nothing makes it OK - this community should not have to tolerate it.
Pages Cited:
Outer Rim - http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dungeon/2393/index.html
Black Sun - http://home.att.net/~Dollx6/index.html
Dagobah Clouds - http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/9157/Dagobah/
Queen Jawa