(no subject)
Alright, here's why I don't ask for credit.
Wait. Before I start, sorry, but there are no icons in this post. I've made some and I'll post them.. someday. So, you know, feel free to not read this.
Alright, here's why I don't ask for credit. Because on the whole, it's a ridiculous idea. Yes, I take the time to make these icons look nice. Yes, I'm proud of many of them. But by distributing them on the Internet, I'm setting them free. I have no way of tracking down anyone who saves and/or uses them--I'll never know how many people have saved one of my icons without leaving me a comment and then used it without announcing to the world that I made it. AND THAT'S OKAY. I SWEAR IT IS. I can't really copyright a damn thing I post here, so why pretend?
It really, truly annoys me when people who distribute icons, brushes, textures, and so on say something along the lines of, 'You MUST credit in your keywords/userinfo/resource page.' Oh? Must I? And how the fuck do you plan on enforcing that? What, are you going to call Internet Lawyers? 'Internet Lawyers, I've been wronged! LJ User X used my brushes without credit! We've got to get that bastard for all he's worth!' You have absolutely no way of backing yourself up. You are dispersing your work freely; it will be taken and used freely, and there's nothing you can do about it.
Arteests who make their journals friends-only do have a little more power to say 'credit required,' since they're limiting the number of people who can access their work. The only thing about it is, how arrogant do you have to be to say to yourself, 'my graphics are too good to be out there amongst the plebes--only SPECIAL people whom I CHOOSE will get the opportunity to use them?'
Now, giving credit is not a bad thing. I think it's only polite to do so, but not everyone is polite. Asking nicely for credit isn't a bad thing either, so long as it is simply ASKING and not masked DEMANDING.
Here's where I stand. I get so excited when I see people using my icons, I don't care whether they've credited me or not. The point is that somebody liked an icon I made so much that that person is using it. That's why I'm doing this. I make these little things in the hope that people will like them. And when I see people who have used my icons and credited me, it's very flattering: not only did you like my icon, but you remembered where you got it. I love getting the comments that say 'your icons are so gorgeous!' or 'you're one of my favourite icon makers' or 'you have the best Led Zeppelin icons.' That's worth everything.
Wait. Before I start, sorry, but there are no icons in this post. I've made some and I'll post them.. someday. So, you know, feel free to not read this.
Alright, here's why I don't ask for credit. Because on the whole, it's a ridiculous idea. Yes, I take the time to make these icons look nice. Yes, I'm proud of many of them. But by distributing them on the Internet, I'm setting them free. I have no way of tracking down anyone who saves and/or uses them--I'll never know how many people have saved one of my icons without leaving me a comment and then used it without announcing to the world that I made it. AND THAT'S OKAY. I SWEAR IT IS. I can't really copyright a damn thing I post here, so why pretend?
It really, truly annoys me when people who distribute icons, brushes, textures, and so on say something along the lines of, 'You MUST credit in your keywords/userinfo/resource page.' Oh? Must I? And how the fuck do you plan on enforcing that? What, are you going to call Internet Lawyers? 'Internet Lawyers, I've been wronged! LJ User X used my brushes without credit! We've got to get that bastard for all he's worth!' You have absolutely no way of backing yourself up. You are dispersing your work freely; it will be taken and used freely, and there's nothing you can do about it.
Arteests who make their journals friends-only do have a little more power to say 'credit required,' since they're limiting the number of people who can access their work. The only thing about it is, how arrogant do you have to be to say to yourself, 'my graphics are too good to be out there amongst the plebes--only SPECIAL people whom I CHOOSE will get the opportunity to use them?'
Now, giving credit is not a bad thing. I think it's only polite to do so, but not everyone is polite. Asking nicely for credit isn't a bad thing either, so long as it is simply ASKING and not masked DEMANDING.
Here's where I stand. I get so excited when I see people using my icons, I don't care whether they've credited me or not. The point is that somebody liked an icon I made so much that that person is using it. That's why I'm doing this. I make these little things in the hope that people will like them. And when I see people who have used my icons and credited me, it's very flattering: not only did you like my icon, but you remembered where you got it. I love getting the comments that say 'your icons are so gorgeous!' or 'you're one of my favourite icon makers' or 'you have the best Led Zeppelin icons.' That's worth everything.