ATTENTION CREATORS! (This can bring your business to a STANDSTILL)

I don't think its really needless. Most people that would stoop this low don't have the skills to write a script like yours. Thus supplying it for them, but saying...oh wait...I made a protection script that you need to put in all your objects now that I have made the copying script readily available does deserve backlash. Its like handing out guns bullet proof vests at the same time. One does not excuse the other. Yes, other people could have written a script to copy other work, but thanks to you they only have to alter one to copy people's work. You are making it easier for people to exploit the system and you don't see anything wrong with that?

Yes mash, textures too can be duplicated....they take a lil longer to rez, but you can rip them too. Ask Fuzzy for a demo on it. I watched him do it to a flower from my flower store.

OK let me get this straight....


1) You design a prim mirror script that would copy an object for people to use.

2) You design a failsafe into this script that would prevent unlawful copying of someone else work

3) You created a script that would initially let people MOD an object (sans linking) that did NOT require that the "mod" permissions be set on the object.

4) You open source this code to the public for free.

5) People easily edit your script to remove said failsafe.

6) All object to date are subject to copying with said script(s).

Ok what I want to know is HOW this script was to help man kind? And what the MAJOR possibilities to SL business this may create.

I am a major prefab builder, I also build furniture, vehicles, gadgets and other misc objects. Allot of my objects (mainly my homes) are set as "modify" this is to let the consumer MODIFY their objects (make a room bigger, add a window, remove a wall, retexture, etc) without the involvement of me. This is CRUTIAL to my company as we do NOT have the time to modify everyone's home to their needs.

I am aware that any Joe Shmoe could come in and copy my buildings prim by prim, IE select each prim and copy it's specs. As a poster stated above this would NOT be a short time process as they could easily build something original them selves.

I can tell you RIGHT now I will NOT sell my homes "no modify" for "duh" reasons. I can also say that ANYONE that my associates or I catch copying ANY of my products will be abuse reported to the fullest extent. I will have to check and see if the author of the script is also legally responsible too. This has to be the biggest hit to the custom content community I have ever seen.

Oh btw, your “Oh btw, I created a script that F***s all builders, but I have a fix that you MUST use now because I made It open source. Oh and it’s your problem now, not mine.” attatude has to be one of the saddest things I have seen in a LONG time. G** D**n people amaze me daily….

Sorry if I seem pissed, I’ll have to create a stress ball later, but ya’ know, it’s your feelings, not mine.

- Sam

First of all, as Kasandra pointed out, some of us don't want to spend all day modifiying things for people. Our SexGirls products will remain copy/mod and if I catch somone selling our products they will curse the day their daddy met their mommy.

We offer copy/mod as a service to our customers and trust them not to abuse it.

This is known as a logical falacy. Number three is grossly incorrect, because the "modify permission" is added by the creator, only. Period.

It follows, then, that six doesn't work either. Only specific objects fall into the "problem" area, which you granted discretion on already. This can be resolved by using what the second script REALLY is, if you actually take the time to try it out.

Thank you sir, may I have another?

This is precisely the rub.

Jeffrey,
First of all, I believe that if you didn't create this script someone else would have. So I'm not mad at you -- not at all. Nor do I blame the gun maker when a criminal pulls the trigger. That said, I wish this moment had not come quite so soon in SL's timeline.

I'm not sure if you realize how important selling mod objects was.

Well, this had to come, and we might as well deal with it now rather than later.

I need to examine this and your other threads carefully it seems to figure out the true impact here and what I need to do to protect my work.

if nothing else, this may force LL to take action and enhance the IP protection system some...

You have to draw the line somewhere and if people steal our things for resale so be it. I certainly have better things to worry about and if this means the end of business as we know it now we will simply shut our business down and retire to our Forest Preserve to live happily ever after

The 'stopgap' solution, even though it's a well thought out piece of scripting, is just that. I'm afraid you grossly overestimate the technical skills of the general user of items.
Using things like texture keys to change textures is just not applicable for a user who is used to 'dropping' textures from inventory on prims.

Next to that it will take a lot of time and effort to change all sellable items, and equip them with the set of scripts. And this is no solution for all the already sold items. (And one sold copy is enough for endless reproduction.)

As it stands, this copy script is not generally used. When it becomes common (and most users will not even have a clue what the script does; they'll just 'drop it in' and get unlimited free copies) it will have a serious impact on the sales of modifiable items though.

I don't blame Jeffrey for (re) exposing a huge hole in the current permission systems, although it probably would have been wiser to keep these kind of scripts 'closed circle'.
Although if it wasn't by Jeffreys hand, this kind of script would have resurfaced eventually.

It's probably a good idea for LL to reconsider the current option to modify EVERY element on a mod object, including putting in new scripts, before the modify permission becomes a thing of the past for everything but full perms freebies.

(It sounds all a bit doom & gloom atm, we'll see what happens in the coming days,weeks,months,years

The irony is it was sitting happily neglected for a large part in the Script Library. Bringing the public eye as a "copier" is what really kills it.

To give you an idea of that, check the number of current views to the actual "rez code" script - the script the entire thing hinges on. 39, give or take a few people that toss it elsewhere and other threads.

It's strangely ironic.

The problem is more complicated by the fact that Cory Linden has an agenda which was too open to this situation occuring sooner rather than later.

He had a very complicated permission system based on the reality that this would be possible.

However, just because someone can write a deadly virus doesn't necessarily mean they should. Trust me, I've battled with that one more than a few times in SL.

I've published some code a couple of times to the forums that were dangerous in the hands of the many and I quickly retracted it.

I personally think that's what should have been done here, but I also appreciate Jeffrey's "tekkie wiki" desire to share.

Personally, I think Jeffrey should retract the code. The 'cat' is not out of the bag so speak (if this was the case, then the cat was out of the bag quite a very long time ago).

The less prevalent this code is the less dangerous it would be. The fact is, 13YearOld CopyAndSell Avatar is less likely to get ahold of this if it is not 'readily' available.

Instead of sharing this code, we should take the time to educate content creators (as the owner of this thread did) of the risk of setting your prims to modify.

Had a nice talk with Jeff in world and convinced him that the good of being able to make perfect mirrors of your objects didn't over weigh the bad of me and those with similar temperments spending all their time trying to kill people who copied their stuff. And he agreed, happy bouncy Kasandra is better than murderous Kasandra and took down the script. At least thats how I remember it. Maybe Jeff's version is different.

Well, it seems I am just going to have to say this, because the simple fact one resident can be so distressed over this matter and express it from the heart (Kasandra, as met in world) proves that many other people feel that way. Sans drama. Sans problem.

I screwed up.

The code has been, once more, pulled - this time for what will probably be the long haul.

This decision has been made for two reasons. The first is I realized the code could be made better, completely without the actual problem posted here. The second is, even if that's the case, and I got the original greenlight to go, and I tried to do everything in my own power to get this resolved, I just could not.

We're all only human, are we not?

In other news, I'm personally quite distressed over this - not because It Happened Exactly As I'd Feared, but because it proves we are still not able, as a community, to use the tools we are given responsibly and that hurts a lot of people. This includes, but is not limited to, forum use (publicizing this script in the first place), personal use (someone can do that?), and my own failing of underestimating what I felt was more of a "niche" than a "feature" of Second Life.

At any rate, I am going to set myself to rewriting the code so it does not come to this problem again, because it seems we are just not ready yet - as Forseti put it with his (I'd prefer it had been later).

Good day.

LOL!

Jeffrey... she didn't hurt you, did she??!

This sounds like good news for the time being, but we should really get LL onto this issue ASAP to get the loophole (?) closed.

After mulling over possible affects and preparing to make all of my stuff 'no mod' - I realized I cannot. My products are sold in several 'parts' that utilize a parent 'placement' prim that needs to be removed after successful placement of the part. Obviously, this won't work if I make it no-mod.


So, where do we go from here?

We start from what we have and work to a compromise, is where we go from now.

And no. What did it for me is I actually do care how people feel, despite my cold demeanor. Seeing a resident so earnestly upset over this as she was, and seeing that her concern was relevant, is what did it for me.

Thank you Jeffrey for doing this - it is VERY appreciated. I wish I'd known about this a month ago when you were doing your homework and talking with the Lindens.

You didn't screw up... the word just hadn't been spread enough. However, I'd like to thank you for bringing this big shortcoming in the perms to our attention. I'll be sending LL a note about this... we can't forget about it for another year. We have to figure out a solution ASAP.

Thanks for keeping us in mind and heart Jeffrey!

Aheh... pretend I didn't write what I wanted to in this space.

I do hope this issue gets resolved.

People need to realize, that the intent of Jeffrey's script was not to 'copy' other people's objects, not was it made to 'copy your own objects'. After all, why would you want to copy your own objects with a script when you can just shift-drag?

The prim mirror script was made to do just that, 'mirror'. Any experienced real world 3D modeler would know just how valuable that is when modelling. It allows you to build HALF of a model and make a 'mirror' of an object so you have two symmetrical sides, which can be placed together with no visible seams.

Don't yell at Jeffrey for publicizing such a script, as it DOES have more practical uses than mindless copy-and-sell. People may use it to copy objects, and they might just be using Jeffrey's scripts to do so, but in no way is it his fault.

At any rate, I respect the fact that Jeffrey did pull his scripts down, as they did create somewhat of a problem.



Although this only reflects some of the smallest portion of the community, the people who can't use tools responsibly really do reflect on our community.

Thanks Jeffery.

Trust me i've screwed in this regard far more times than you can imagine

BTW, I made myself a copy before you took it down. I've been looking for something like this so I can transfer objects between alts

Which is precisely the problem - they ruin it for everyone else.

Thank you for speaking on my behalf, by the way. Your post is a nice summation of precisely how things went down.


I sense a potshot.

Jeffrey,
You did the right thing, even though it feels wrong and bad and that you released it entirely for a different intent compared to how it turned out.

The script would be great in a place where you can *trust* the people using it. unfortunately, there are too many jow newbies out there who would see this as a way to make a quick buck by stealing others IP.

Dontcha just wish everyone was trustworthy?

It's all good.

I just went and revised the code so it no longer "copies" anything - it just reverses the existing prim. This has probably been suggested before, but in light of what happened, it seemed a good idea to do now.

How would people feel if I posted that instead? It uses the same "principle," but the code as written is now radically different.

A sample, which is useless without its other half:

I like the 'mirror' function a lot. I think it would come in very handy for projects.

I'll be watching you blaze! If you resell my things, I'll hunt you down and give you a really, really bad drag makeover and force you to go out on a date with Darko.

All this script does is copy prims. If a creator has any type of script\animation\sound whatever inside (that are usually no mod, copy, no trans OR mod, no copy, trans) there is NO way to replicate the item 100%.

Go nuts trying to replicate say, Cubey's hover vehicle models, good luck getting full copy full trans on those scripts.

All this thing does is copy prims... woopie.... what's the fuss all about?!