Board Thread:New Features/@comment-13918697-20140924084804/@comment-5785681-20140930010636

Actually, I was the anon who happened to forget that I wasn't logged in when I made my comment. I stand by it, just the same and would caution contributors to keep a cool head and not jump to conclusions about people. That's a suggestion, not a demand, k? I enjoy a good discussion, but the tone seemed to be getting rather tense and we're all here because we enjoy sharing our fanways in public. YMMV, but that's how I, me and me alone roll.

To be honest, I recently saw text I created from scratch for a certain wiki being used on a Deviant Art account that wasn't mine. Was I ticked? Yeah, a little. But then, it was kind of flattering even if I wasn't given credit for it. It meant that someone valued what I had said and how I had said it so, credited or not, I silently wished the person good luck and let it go. I doubt anyone would even care about who originally wrote the text or posted the image. There's no money involved and I wasn't about to lose sleep over it.

And I do understand why Virago is sensitive about what he/she sees as their "creation" being pirated. I guess the crux is how you define "creation." It takes a lot of work to capture those images and kudos to Virago for having such drive and devotion to do what he/she did. I admire that.

But is a screencap an original work? Interesting topic.

Fanart and fanfic are, imo, because the existing original text and images are being manipulated in a unique way to display the talent and mindset of the artist behind the manipulation. You could say that this is also true of a wiki in its design and content, yet we don't because the law regarding online content are vague (for better or worse) and the arguments are at play in real life about this very issue. But I digress.... A screencap, unlike art or story, is usage of technology that can be taught, learned and repeated ad infinitum without personalization. I can admire someone's ability to do it, but it's not unique which diminishes if not elminates the artistry.

Ultimately, every manufactured item in the world has a slew of people who bring it to fruition. The only one who gets credit, typically, is the brand. Here, wikia is the brand and the rest of us are a part of the unsung team behind the manufactured items (wikis). Personally,  I don't mind. I'm just here to have fun. If something I do makes someone else feel good, that's ok by me.

Angelle aka Luxartisan (talk) 01:06, September 30, 2014 (UTC)