The hypocracy of it all
I belong to the group Doombringers and it has been a group of much controversy because like any system we do have our flaws and make mistakes. And while there is already a report button for DA we'd like to think we are helping the admins with a good cause.
However sometimes we get individuals who do not agree with our methods but instead of being the bigger person and taking it up the proper way they openly bring harm to the group. It isn't fair to the members just as it isn't fair to the to the artists in question.
I'd also like to point out this user has been harrassing one (maybe more) of the member(s )for questionable materials in their gallery. Such as photographs of toys =/.
But here's the conversation by David Delanty http://www.vest.deviantart.com so you be the judge:
Hide Comment Report Spam `vest 19 hours 38 minutes ago
In light of a recent injustice this club has inflicted upon a member of the dA community; an injustice that affects the reputation of one of my own collaborators, and the reputation of an aspiring young color artist, I need to speak up.
If people have an issue, they can report it to the dA helpdesk. If people find something outside of dA which is a violation of their work, they need to contact that website's administrator with a WhoIs Google Search. Should the issue be a simple misunderstanding, leave it between the artist and the one who mistakenly used copyrighted material.
Never should ANYONE report copyright infringement or art theft to the #Doombringers club.
Having a journal publicly humiliating art 'thieves,' even though you have no evidence, or don't observe the situation thoroughly before jumping to conclusions, is a huge disservice to everybody. When you guys ostracized an artist for doing no wrong, and didn't look deeper before making a fool out of them (for what reason, enjoyment, entertainment, self-esteem, making this club actually look important, I don't know), it hurt many.
That person is not a thief, they are a color artist. You've hurt their feelings, and hurt their reputation.
The line artist gave them permission to color his work. By showcasing his work, you've hurt that line artist's reputation as well. He openly invites others to color his stuff, but you guys have given others the impression that he doesn't, and it hurts his image. It was his openness to others that allowed myself to collaborate multiple times with him, and if others are afraid to color his stuff, the resources available to him are stifled by your presence.
Clubs like this are a detriment to the community spirit of deviantArt. Knowing you guys even exist makes me less confident to showcase my work, lest one of this club's members find it an mistakenly try to make a fool of me instead of utilizing the proper avenues of reporting theft. This fear is even greater amongst collaborative artists who aren't as well-known as I am. It's amazing that this club has plastered all over it "Please be 'polite' to the art thieves, even if you know they've taken stuff." Yet, your entire blog is a listing of stolen works. Exposing them publicly without checking your facts is anything but 'polite.' Your club can't even follow its own rules? Heck you even cite Faq 155 in the 'Art Thievery' module (it's 'theft' by the way, not 'thievery'), and in that very Faq entry it reads:
Only a small number of staff with the proper set of privileges will have access to the report and the person that you report will not receive your name or any information with which to identify you.
In other words, reports of art theft are supposed to be confidential. Your club can't just follow its own rules, it fails to follow the rules of deviantArt etiquette policy. To quote:
If you have reason to believe that a deviantART submission violates (copyright) policy you should use the official Report Violation link which is available on every submission page.
There's no mention of public showcasing. No allusion towards addressing the art thief. Not even a nod to the #Doombringers or any other group like it. No, and that's because deviantArt policy mandates that all matters regarding theft should be privately between you and the Policy Violation Administration team.
Your club's founder should be ashamed for how they are running this place.
We have the PVA's and the Offsite Rip Reporting Forum here for a reason. This place has the ability to be a resource for those seeking advice on how to properly report copyright infringement and deal with it, you've even got the correct 'copyright infringement' notification letter and all the right means of reporting it. But that blog, and the fact its singling out deviants, particularly innocent deviants, is a shameful blotch on this club's credibility.
You guys really need to rethink the way this club works, get rid of that caustic blog you've got, stop spotlighting other people, or dissolve the club completely. One mistake is all it takes to show how unnecessary and insensitive groups like #Doombringers really are.
Thanks for your time.
-David Delanty
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I'd like to point out to both of you if you are going to say these things to us then you should also speak with these groups:
If you search group list for art theft here:
[link]
More than one group exists and some of these other have no system than us. Also I'd like to point out instead of publically telling us to be ashamed and take a hike you should speak directly to the founder or the DA admins themselves.
Dogging us publically no matter how polite you are because of any incident is counterproductive and could possibly earn you a ticket for harrasment.
Also the admin has us on his watch list.
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Hide Comment Report Spam `vest 3 hours 39 minutes ago
Dogging us publically no matter how polite you are because of any incident is counterproductive
Oh how awfully ironic. I'm sure there are some artists posted in the #Doombringers who wish you guys would have the same decency. That's blatant hypocrisy right there.
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Hide Comment Report Spam `vest 3 hours 43 minutes ago
More than one group exists and some of these other have no system.
Like art theft; just because a bunch get away with it doesn't mean it's right. This group got our attention, because it made false accusations against our circle of collaborators, and didn't contact ANYBODY to verify their information before publicly posting it.
Dogging us publically no matter how polite you are because of any incident is counterproductive and could possibly earn you a ticket for harrasment.
Harassment. Sure.
#Doombringers falsely accuses legitimate artists of theft in a publicly displayed blog, telling people to comment on their page, and by pointing this out, I'm the one who is harassing others. If pointing out flaws in #Doombringers' system is 'counter-productive' by your standards, I'm now even more worried about the direction this club is going, and the mentality that is participating in it.
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silentlily 2 hours 50 minutes ago
These artists are suppose to be researched by our members of the group before going to a journal which has be be approved by 10 members. We understand if there has been a mistake made and do our best to correct the situation in question and work on ideas to better the system.
But also understand we use the journal for offsite cases as well.
Before you guys chimed in we were already working on the matter ourselves. You are taking away from our and your time so we can make the system less flawed.
If you have grieviences please send them to the proper channels or note us as other deviants as done.
And I state again please also take this up with the other art theft groups. Just because we were the group involved in the incident would probably mean other groups should be aware as well don't you think?
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`vest 2 hours 7 minutes ago
These artists are suppose to be researched by our members of the group before going to a journal which has be be approved by 10 members.
10 out of 10 failed to do this. You guys aren't fit to be an art theft 'crusade.' That's why we have people who are capable of proper judgment and research already in the Policy Violations Administration team.
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Hide Comment *silentlily 1 hour 17 minutes ago
"we" Are you saying you're an admin of DA who is capable of proper judgement and reasearch?
The pot is calling the kettle black.
Please take your grievences to the proper channels or note us as other deviants have done.
Thank you
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`vest 55 minutes 47 seconds ago
Are you saying you're an admin of DA who is capable of proper judgement and reasearch?
Absolutely not. That's why I, and neither should any regular dA member, attempt to do the job of the PVA's by circumventing the 'report' button. You see, I don't think I'm good enough to do it. I can at least look at myself with some perspective. You guys on the other hand think you can. However, you guys messed up, and pegged an innocent artist as an art thief, and publicly humiliated her in the #Doombringers blog. You guys didn't check your information, and not one of the ten people who approved the blog sent a note to the original artist verifying that it was an illegal image. Yet you guys seem so high-and-mighty in your little crusade against art theft, that the moment you guys do screw up, and reveal yourselves as the aggressive cyber-bullies you are, it becomes our fault, and we're suddenly not allowed to voice our discontent with the existence of this club.
We didn't ask to be defended by you guys. We don't want your help. The #Doombringers have already proven their inability to do the job they seek to do. You can't get your facts right, you don't research, and you don't have any powers to remove offending images outside of the avenues already available to other deviants.
In fact, you're telling all the group members to report a single image. It actually slows down the PVA's when they get backlogged with the same report over and over again. So if anything, you guys are harming the process of keeping dA clean.
Please take your grievences to the proper channels or note us as other deviants have done.
I will only refrain from commenting publicly when a verified administrator of deviantArt tells me that my behavior is improper. Not you.
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Hide Comment *silentlily 38 minutes 7 seconds ago
Pot. Kettle. Black. Definately.
While I can understand you are upset and want justice, if you are not a DA admin then allow them to handle it otherwise you are doing the same thing you accuse us of.
The admins are aware of our existance and our activities. We have personally been contacted by the admins on proper etiqutte and are rearranging the group as such.
Again please take your grievences to the proper channels or note us.
And personally I'd like to point out by all your comments I wouldn't want to hire you as a colorist and will inform all my friends in the industry as such. You would bee too difficult to work with.
`vest 7 hours 57 minutes ago Nice journal. Very mature of you. And personally I'd like to point out by all your comments I wouldn't want to hire you as a colorist and will inform all my friends in the industry as such. Oooh, scary person making threats against my reputation. Too bad that journal has zero comments. So much for that avenue, huh. You're clearly a very immature human being. Good day, and awesome fail. You made my day.