[ MOD POST ] Rules & Regulations.
All posts must be friends/members only. If you make your post public, it is subject to immediate deletion by the mods.
Our posts are Friends Only, so unless you join the community as a member [not just friend it], you will not get to see them.
You must keep all posts on topic. Anything not about, or related to, art theft will be immediately deleted by a mod without notice.
Please have enough substantial evidence against an alleged art thief before making a post concerning a specific person. "Gut feelings" are not considered evidence. Accusations made without actual proof are subject to immediate deletion.
Style similarities are not an example of art theft. Do not make posts in this community accusing a reputable artist of stealing simply because their style of drawing resembles another artist's. If you make such posts, they will be deleted. Persistence in these matters will result in a banning.
Pose resemblance is not an example of art theft. DeviantArt's and other online art resources' policies clearly state that they don't consider this type of art stolen, and neither do we. If you make such posts, they will be deleted. Persistence in these matters will result in a banning.
Tracings, copies, and "eyeballed" pieces are a gray area. Some forums will consider this art theft, while others will not. You are allowed to make posts on such matters, but be aware that if found invalid, your post is subject to deletion. Each post will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
If someone is stealing your art, we will do everything in our power to aid you in your cause. We make no guarantees that we can get your stolen artwork taken down, but we do guarantee that we will sure as hell help you in any way possible.
It doesn't have to be your stolen artwork that you are reporting; it can be anyone's. Just please have all your facts straight [and preferably proof that it's in fact stolen] before you proceed to posting.
Once someone has been proven an art thief in our community, we ask that you do not make public accusations on art forums such as Deviant/SheezyArt. Be aware that simply leaving comments on a DA/SA page to the original piece will make you subject for a temporary ban according to their policies on harassment. Also, by making such comments you alert the thief and sometimes cause them to remove the piece, thereby eliminating the proof and helping them escape a ban. The best course of action is to always immediately report the stolen artwork and thief account.
If it's a fellow LJ user that's stealing your artwork, after posting your complaint in our community we recommend going here to read about contacting the LJ abuse team to have their journal dealt with. Once done, feel free to come back frequently and continue to vent your frustrations in our community.
We are not responsible for the actions of our members outside of this community. We do not support flaming, spamming, or public harassment of any kind towards accused art thieves. If a member participates in any of these actions, it is with their own free will and interests in mind. Any posts or comments in support of flaming and spamming are subject to deletion, and members subject to banning.
Please note that this is not a place to post icon theft. If you make a post concerning icon theft, it will be immediately deleted. However, there are two special cases when icon theft should be brought forth to the community:
1.) If the stolen icon contains someone's original artwork that is being used without permission.
2.) If the stolen icon contains someone's original photography that is being used with permission.
Expect cursing. Expect vulgarity. Expect a whole damned lot of vulgarity and cursing. As previously stated, we're bitter.
Fighting and name-calling between members on the community page is strictly a big no-no. If you participate in such threads, you might get a warning before banning, you might not. Hey, we're the creators; we can do whatever we want depending on the situation. However, what members do on their own time in their own journals is none of our business.
You may advertise your communities in a post if and only if they are theft or art related, and if you first make a post advertising our community inside of your own community in return. All other community promo posts will be immediately deleted without notice.
Do you want to make a post in our community, but not quite sure if someone is infringing upon your copyright? If you're squeamish about going public, go read 10 Big Myths about Copyrights to find out.