kristinawood.com ~ View topic

Royal Member of BonBon Joined: 30 Aug 2008 Posts: 1521

I was recently pondering the release of a mini-comic, only a few pages long. What happens is that the town comes under siege by pirates, the citizens attempt to fight them off, but the pirates prove to be too great in number. The citizens are then forced to leave the town. The pirates are victorious, but without the people the victory is empty, as there are no women for pleasure, much of the valuables gone with the people. The pirates leave and the town becomes desolate.

The point is slightly subliminal. Something to let those who pirate the comics see what their actions may eventually bring, and maybe guilt-trip a few people who read the pirated copies into membership.

Just an idea, but I figured I'd just throw it out there.

Rank: Super Veteran Joined: 18 Dec 2009 Posts: 7678

..... that's actually not a bad idea.

http://www.furaffinity.net/user/brigwyn/ · Royal Member of BonBon Joined: 04 Oct 2008 Posts: 2914

In the military that is known as a " Scorched Earth" policy.

Royal Member of BonBon Joined: 29 May 2009 Posts: 6010

Really now, It sounds kinda dark though.

Rank: Super Veteran Joined: 18 Dec 2009 Posts: 7678

Yes, but it gets the point across, don't you think?

Rank: Senior Member Joined: 26 Nov 2010 Posts: 226

The majority of pirated material comes from people who bought the product.

Royal Member of BonBon Joined: 20 Oct 2009 Posts: 12351

Royal Member of BonBon Joined: 29 May 2009 Posts: 6010

Even if the site does go under, I might still privately donate money to miss Vanessa as commissions just to keep going if possible.

Rank: Super Veteran Joined: 18 Dec 2009 Posts: 7678

I sincerely doubt the site would go under. And if by some impossible turn of events it does, I'm certain Vanessa will keep drawing comics to her faithful audience.

Royal Member of BonBon Joined: 29 May 2009 Posts: 6010

I say it merely in the hypothetical sense. But I know what you mean.

Rank: Super Veteran Joined: 04 Mar 2009 Posts: 1548

I hate to be a pestamist, but i have to agree with Silvador.

Royal Member of BonBon Joined: 30 Aug 2008 Posts: 1521

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't one of the members initially come across the comics from a leak site?

I know the majority won't care but usually the logic behind it is that "they make enough money that it doesn't matter" , since a lot of the piracy is of the music and film industries, which rake in millions of dollars. However, smaller sites don't have the same luxury. The upcoming game is more of a safeguard to try and help keep the site afloat, but I just figured sending a message in a way other than legal action might actually get through to a few people.

Anyways, it was just a thought so I don't really see any harm/good one way or the other.

http://www.furaffinity.net/user/brigwyn/ · Royal Member of BonBon Joined: 04 Oct 2008 Posts: 2914

BATTLE-BROTHERS! WE MARCH TO WAR! WE MARCH TO VICTORY! AND WE SHALL KNOW NO FEAR!

We shall begin a crusade against these pirates, these blasphemers. We shall hunt them down like the rabid ape -descended primates they are.
Their fetid heads shall be placed upon pikes at the entrance of this website as a warning to others who would ply such low and sordid practices.

Oh I don't feel very well.
* Goes off for a quiet lie-down, with a paper bag over his head*

P.S This is all a joke. Shocked

Forum Admin Joined: 18 Oct 2003 Posts: 3670

Forum Admin Joined: 18 Oct 2003 Posts: 3670

http://www.furaffinity.net/user/brigwyn/ · Royal Member of BonBon Joined: 04 Oct 2008 Posts: 2914

It is pure highway robbery. At least Dick Turpin wore a mask.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLkhx0eqK5w Twisted Evil

Royal Member of BonBon Joined: 29 May 2009 Posts: 6010

Sometimes its moments like this that ACTA and some of those other internet laws seem kinda useful if they could just make it in the right way.

Royal Member of BonBon Joined: 20 Oct 2009 Posts: 12351

Forum Admin Joined: 18 Oct 2003 Posts: 3670

Forum Admin Joined: 18 Oct 2003 Posts: 3670

Here's the free page that Vanessa made exclusively to promote the site:

Royal Member of BonBon Joined: 29 May 2009 Posts: 6010

The problem is something I call the Infinite rule, which is very much like those other rules like 34 and 59. The Infinity rule applies mainly to the internet, as it is occupied with an infinite number of people, so no matter how many contingencies you may have, there will always be a number of those people who won't care.

Because of that, there is never truly a way of making people pay for stuff like this, because once its out there, you can't just pull it back like a piece of paper. Hence why people are so casual about not doing the right thing.

Royal Member of BonBon Joined: 20 Oct 2009 Posts: 12351

I wasn't aware there were already promotional pages around, to be honest. And I know V has more than enough work to do already. It was an idea I was just putting out there for discussional purposes. *shrug*

To continue on with what Rune is saying; in this time of digital media, there's little that can be done to entirely prevent a product from being pirated. Once a page has been posted somewhere on the internet -whether it be a free and public site or a restricted members only site with a thousand firewalls- it's really only a matter of time before some asshole comes along and decides he's above everyone else and thinks because he has the knowhow to access it for free, he has a right to it.

As I have said once before, appreciation for art has declined greatly in this digital age. Any and all forms of art have ceased to be art but have instead become little more than a comodity. The majority of people see the internet not as a way to share the wonders of fantastically skilled artists but instead see it has a massive publication media where when something is placed upon it, putting it where all can access it, then it immediately becomes everyone's rightful property. People see the internet not as a museum to showcase art but as a street for any Tom, Dick or Harry who wants it to come along and just take a free copy from the little wire basket stand that has a sign on it reading "FREE! Please take one."

It's not longer a case of if the prduct will get stolen but when. The only thing that can really be done is to try and quell the piracy as much as possible and hope there are enough people who actually care enough to come into the museum rather than just pick up the pages fluttering about the street.

Royal Member of BonBon Joined: 30 Aug 2008 Posts: 1521

The promo page got me hooked. I really didn't know anything about furries until I heard my bunkmate and his buddies bashing them while I was in the Navy. I didn't really understand why they would hate people on such a level and having no idea what they were talking about, I decided to do some research. Amongst all the various fursuits and demotivational posters, I came across Bon Bon. The artwork on the sample page just drew me in, and while I didn't initially join when I first found the site, it stuck in my head.

I can think of at least one other option for combating piracy, but that has its own 2-part downside. 1) it is illegal 2) could cause retaliation. Still, I'd personally not mind too much launching some attacks to permanently shut down some of those sites

Wonder if there's a way to encode the comics in a program that won't run if any screen-capturing applications are open and scrambles the image if the Prnt Scrn button is pressed...

Royal Member of BonBon Joined: 29 May 2009 Posts: 6010

I joined the site because I got hooked through the promo page as well. Anybody who had an honest-enough streak in them like myself took the chance to pay for the material, plus having my own cameo character made me want to try it more. You'd think the Royal avatar would have been a great pull too, but not always.

Royal Member of BonBon Joined: 09 Jan 2007 Posts: 1556

Another thing I noticed the pirates brought up is how things here use an "outdated" system. Everyone else already covered what was said.

Forum Admin Joined: 18 Oct 2003 Posts: 3670

Royal Member of BonBon Joined: 20 Oct 2009 Posts: 12351

What about watermarks? I have a subscription to SF and I noticed that when I save an imagine, it ends up recieving a barely noticable pattern over the entire image that can only really be seen when viewed up close. While this might not stop piracy, it could discourage and help to figure out who is doing the pirating if they are using an account to do so.

Exhibit A: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16721024/1315460566_LustfulDance.png

Now, I'm usually one of the first to bash watermarks, but this is usually because they are huge, blatant and ruin the image. But a small or subtle watermark like the example I have just given is something I can get on board with. At full view it is next to invisible unless you have dam good eyesigh or know what you are looking for. Zoom in nice and close and you can see what I am talking about; it's printed over the entire image like that.

Forum Admin Joined: 18 Oct 2003 Posts: 3670

We've already tried Watermarks stuff. Nice suggestion but with image manipulation and photoshop, they often get lost to blurred.

You can easily blur up an image and shrink and resize it in photoshop and repost and people will still share it.

Thanks for the idea though.

Royal Member of BonBon Joined: 09 Jan 2007 Posts: 1556

Royal Member of BonBon Joined: 09 Jan 2007 Posts: 1556

Found it:

"I personally think the webmaster is ripping off the artist Vanessa. Very likely he's pocketing more funds than he should be and just using piracy as an excuse. The artist is located overseas (Italy) and would have a terrible time trying to prove this in court and is naively thinking the guy running the website is being sincere.

Personally I hope that the artist goes with a more proven method- either publish the pages herself for a suitable donation and letting it be viewed by all. She gets all the money and piracy is no longer a matter.

The other method would be how the comic Cut Loose goes about doing business- members get advance pages, non-members get a slower update. All pages eventually will be free to view by the public. Not to mention that Cut Loose only costs five dollars for a membership with twice weekly updates versus PBB's ridiculous $25 a month for an update once a week- if they aren't dragging their feet.

The people at PBB can cry like children at the big ol' boogieman of piracy. But the truth is that what's at fault is their embracing an outdated business method that isn't worth the price that they're asking.

They can either change their methods and charge a more reasonable rate, or simply fade away, die and be forgotten."