People Running with your Modifiable Objects

I don't know if I am the only one who noticed this, and I don't know how much it upsets others, but as for myself, it's only mildly upsetting, but it spurred my wanting to ask others if they have the same issue.

We make shoes, and other things at Hearts Desire. Most of our stuff is Modifiable when it has to be, like to adjust it for size, but for the most part it's not. I have a set of bar furniture that is modifiable, and simple, yet nice to enjoy. I don't sell it in Vendors, but I do have it put out for purchase now, just in this past month.

However, in all the cases where I have sold the furniture, I've gone back to check on it, and I've found that now in the place of my furniture is an exact copy of it, changed in some ways and has a new creator name, but with my same pose balls on it, created by me.

I guess people wanted to recreate it exactly, change it a bit and call it their own, and take credit for it.

How many people are annoyed by this???

Is it just me, that hates giving mod rights?

Weird... if I'm reading this right, someone replaced furniture you made with inferior copies, left their copies there and took your originals, but left the pose balls?? I must be reading this wrong. How is that possible?

-Ghoti

Well I personally think it bites that you and Joe don't give mod rights on your items such as shoes. Instead you make a dozen different colors & patterns and sell those instead of giving people modify rights so they can change the color of shoe themselves.

When a person doesn't give mod rights but instead makes alot of varying copies of the same item, it always makes me feel like they are just trying to maximize their earning potential instead letting people be happy with mod rights.

Briana Dawson

I understand where you're coming from Heart. Until we're given the ability to set specific mod permissions (you can only mod contents, or color/size) then I will hardly sell anything with mod enabled. Only items I have enabled mod on are some pieces of jewelry. It may leave some people feeling like I'm being a money grubber, but weighing that against the loss I'd feel if some idiot was selling an endless supply of my models, I'd say I'm better off going with no mod.

So you think 'no mod' stops people from copying your items?

Interesting.

I was thinking why don't people that sell items that are no mod at least package a colletion of them in the most popular colors? Shoes, for example, can be sold in a set with a pair of red, black, brown, etc. shoes. if you make them no transfer as well, you eliminate the risk of selling three items for the price of one.

Back to the original poster, someone went into your shop and replaced some of your inventory with their own? Eh?

It helps.

I did a little experiment with Stormy with her shoes (if she remembers)

But I still found after she gave me a no mod box, I could still edit linked prims and move them away from each other, I just couldnt de-link them, so in theory, If I was really bored, and really wanted to, I could have tried to copy the shapes.

Am I making sense?

How so? people can still copy an item prim for prim with it no mod.

I don't know about you, but I can copy any item more or less exactly just by looking at it. I imagine at least a few hundred people in SL are equally proficient builders.

I do hate people stealing my stuff, but setting a prim item to no-mod does VERY LITTLE to stop theft. So for everybody's convenience I allow mod on all my prim items.

I sell clothing as no-mod because clothing items are quite different. While stealing a texture from a no-mod clothing item is difficult, it's very EASY to steal it from a mod item. Also, there is less of a need for customers to mod clothing. If someone has a request that requires mod (such as making a skirt poofier, or changing the tint) I will just go ahead and do it for them but these requests are few and far between (eyes looking towards watermelon-loving Torley)

just by looking at it?
Are you a genie?





yes, I'm kidding

Fear the power of my prim-copying eye-beams! *ZAP*

I don't really understand the situation you're describing. Someone not only copied your items, but took yours and replaced it with theirs, leaving your pose balls? For that to happen, it had to have been someone with Modify privileges over your stuff... Unless it was a land owner who deleted your item and replaced it with their own.. Eh, doesn't make much sense.

As for perms, clever thieves will get around them regardless of how you set them, it seems. Some people spend more energy trying to work out how to resell something than they would if they just created it themselves. Not much you can do about those types, and the Lindens (except for Jeff) have been completely unsupportive of a creator's rights, so basically, you're screwed. If you don't want something copied, stolen and/or resold, don't sell it, give it away or show it to anyone, ever.

As for clothes, I won't even buy clothing that is No Modify. I don't want to have to contact the creator and wait every time I want to change the tint or shorten the sleeves. No Thanks!

Unless it's clothing where the creator has added shadows to the edges of the clothing where it meets skin. Then changing its properties might give you some very odd results.

Yeah but its harder, at least in my opinion. It would require more effort.

Yes, this is pretty much my clothing. Clothing sliders do a poor job cutting off sleaves, pant legs, skirts, and necklines as the results tend to look blurry. I paint and shadow the sleaves and other cut-off points to create a sharper, more natural look. Also, on my clothing the fabric is shaded to match the contours of the body, so cutting off a section with slider adjustments tends to make the cut look too abrupt.

*cry*

No-one's tried to steal my stuff...

Well, I always thought that when it comes to people stealing other's stuff. You can do as many things as you need to protect your stuff, but you know there's the question that if you're taking all these no mod security measures to stop the one or two people from copying your stuff, is that better than all the problems that the rest of your honest customers are having? People will be able to copy stuff no matter what if they really want.

I guess it's just the trials and tribulations of having public art products that are desired.

But I can definately understand why someone would do this, since I would really hate to have my stuff that I worked hard on ripped off and made into a poorer doppleganger of it's former self sold under someone else's name.

Whatever happened to owning the rights to everything you made anyways?

Locks only keep honest people honest.

If they were honest, you woudn't need locks. Locks keep dishonest people honest.

Would be as bad if they made a better version of it?

Yes I am

Unfortunately, there is an easy compromise - add a scripted "modify" interface to a No Modify object. Here's one such example that happens to be free.

However, not many people are willing to do this - or for that matter, be patient enough to even look at it. It strikes me as people are shooting for the "Path of Least Resistance" solution in all of this - and frankly, I find that a little unsettling.

And thank you graciously for that, Aimee!

No, if someone wants something bad enough, they will take it by any means necessary. And "locks keep honest people, honest" is not something I made up, it is a very old saying.