TWCL

wendyw

Fesworks posted a bit of a discussion with the person behind Webcomic Box on the Wbecast Beacon's Tumblr here.

Basically, it's another site redistributing hot-linked comics without the creators' permission. Wonderful, huh?
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Zoe Robinson · Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 2:11 am Post subject:

When I see sites like this I'm always torn between being glad they aren't ripping off my work, and saddened that I'm still not big enough for people to steal from.
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wendyw · Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 2:14 am Post subject:

Aww, don't worry.
I'm sure someone will steal from you eventually. Very Happy

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Zoe Robinson · Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 2:14 am Post subject:

Again I'm full of mixed feelings. Smile

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dracony · Joined: 12 Dec 2012 Posts: 10

Hey, I made webcomicbox.com =)
Well I never intended it to rip off artists, rather for it to be a way for users on mobile devices to read the comics where they otherwise couldn't.
And I am looking into impoving the site so that creators actually get the credit.

currently I am only adding comics that are under Creative Commons License which basically asks for people to copy the content))))

I am thinking of making it this way:
by default it will load the whole page like comic-rocket does, but the user will have an option to turn on just the "single image mode", but this will be an option, not default setting.

Casual Notice · Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 8:42 pm Post subject:

Quote:

I am only adding comics that are under Creative Commons License which basically asks for people to copy the content

Uuuuhhh...what? There is nothing, anywhere, in any of the levels of creative commons licensing that asks people to copy their content, and certainly not to rip it off of their site at their expense. CCLs are batch boilerplates to license an artistic work, they do not absolve the copyright owner of full rights to their property, and they certainly donot give anyone the right to steal bandwidth.

The only way your site would be acceptable is if you had the written permission of every singlr owner of every single comic you present. Even then, it would be kind of shitty to simply hotlink their site and strip their primary revenue stream (advertising).

Just glancing through your site I see no notification of license, no author credits and no notification that you've actually contacted anyone in any way connected with the comics you steal. That's okay, though; I have a feeling you're about to get a quick lesson on copyright infringement. Deisel Sweeties is licensed to a Syndicate, and the authors of Sluggy Freelance and Dinosaur Comics are famous for protecting their property (especially since Ryan North, of Dinosaur, has done so much for the webcomics community for free already).
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wendyw · Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 11:16 pm Post subject:

dracony wrote:

currently I am only adding comics that are under Creative Commons License which basically asks for people to copy the content))))

I don't see any reference to Creative Commons on Gunnerkrigg Court's, We Shadows', Questionable Content's, Dark Legacy's, Housepets' or Cyanide and Happiness's websites.

Unless I'm missing something and they do indeed have licenses on their sites which I just can't find, then you need to take those (and any others which don't have a license, or the correct license - there are different licenses used by different people) off your site until such time that you've contacted the creators and got permission. Don't wait until they've contacted you to ask you to remove it or leave it up until you can contact the creator themselves. Remove those comics from the live site and then ask permission to put them back on there.
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dracony · Joined: 12 Dec 2012 Posts: 10

Example: "we shadows" has creative commons license in the bottom of the right sidebar

wendyw · Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 12:32 am Post subject:

dracony wrote:

Example: "we shadows" has creative commons license in the bottom of the right sidebar

Ah, okay. I missed that one. Fair enough.
Though you don't seem to actually be following the terms of the license.

Creative Commons 3.0 wrote:

Notice — For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work.

What about the others I listed?
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xwhy · Joined: 01 Apr 2008 Posts: 167 Location: Brooklyn

I'd rather have the page views, of course, because the hits are good for my self-esteem. There's nothing financial about my site. That said, the one thing that really riled me was a while back when one of those sites basically filed off the serial numbers. That site erased the copyright notice and my signature before reposting it.

OTOH, there's a bit of an ego boost after five years and 700 comics to see some of my comic circulating. Just ask, I have no problem. Teachers have been putting them in lesson plans and hanging them in the classroom.
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dracony · Joined: 12 Dec 2012 Posts: 10

Well If you take a look at the site now, you will see that the users get the option to either see the full page or just the comic. So it's up to them now =)

Do you think its fair enough?

wendyw · Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 12:16 pm Post subject:

dracony wrote:

Do you think its fair enough?

No, not really.
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nsanelilmunky · Joined: 12 Nov 2012 Posts: 93

Stealing is still stealing no matter how many ribbons and bows you try to put on it.

Zoe Robinson · Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 2:42 pm Post subject:

dracony wrote:

Well If you take a look at the site now, you will see that the users get the option to either see the full page or just the comic. So it's up to them now =)

Do you think its fair enough?

This is nowhere near fair enough. By giving the users this option all you are doing is trying to shift the blame for stealing content off yourself and onto your users (who, for the most part, don't know you're stealing the content with your "just the comic" option).

Let's put this as simply as possible: you CANNOT provide just the comic unless you have EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION from the copyright holder. You CAN however link or redirect users to the original page the comic was published on.

To simply grab the comic and display it on your site is either hotlinking (stealing bandwidth and depriving the artist/copyright holder of their revenue stream) or copyright infringement (redistribution of copyrighted work without licence, and depriving the artist/copyright holder of their revenue stream).
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dpat57 · Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 7:31 pm Post subject:

This wouldn't be so bad (assuming there are levels of bad that keep things somewhere around barely legal) if clicking on the thumbnails redirected readers to the actual comic sites, like Just the First Frame does. But keeping readers on your site, and surrounding the stolen pages with your code, sucks rocks. And is not legal.
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