September 2, 2005
When a Robot breaks down...
Ah the robots.txt file...at the center of controversy in a landmark copyright infringement case.
Reading about this reminds me of the old opt-in, opt-out controversy. The Internet community claims that a website owner can OPT-OUT of search engine indexing via the robots.txt file, well folks like so much else in this day and age, that doesn't really work 100%.
This is the root of the lawsuit, and the first of its kind against an indexing of images, cached pages, without the expressed permission of the copyright holder. Many have opined about when/if this would happen to say Google. I have read that there is case law already allowing for thumbnails to be fair use and of course we all can see the usefulness and the legitimate fair use of an archive of the history of the Internet.
Libraries, the brick & mortar versions, get the publishers expressed permission. The Library of Congress has emassed its collection since deposit is a requirement of copyright registration. That again is with the copyright holders expressed permission.
Posted by photocartoonist at 1:55 PM
August 31, 2005
Confessions of a Paranoid
For too long there has been an us and them mentality between artists and webmasters. Sure there's rampant copyright abuse, but some of that is innocent. Sure there is a lack of understanding how all of this works and therein lies the root of my problem.
Most artists know nothing about how all of this fancy pants digital stuff works. I know just enough to get me into trouble and I get just enough advice to help me jump to conclusions. I confess I am paranoid about the humor community but I think it is a bad thing for them to be afraid of me.
Fear got me into this predicament. The search for facts will get me out of it for sure but I would like to apologize for any feelings I have hurt or an inferences I may have inadvertantly made. From the very beginning I have been hoping that this whole noevilproductions.com thing has nothing to do with the humor community. But I still am obliged to find out WHAT happened.
The webmaster community is far more helpful than the arts community. Still photographers are the worse lot. I always attributed this to the fact that we work in solitude; us and the camera. Many of us do not want to share our knowledge or tricks fo the trade.
This is what I always like about the technology folks; very helpful. It's almost as if we are relieved that we finally found other people who understand what we are talking about; other folks who are eager to share what they know, their tricks.
I am sorry. My inexperience leads to me to question things and in so doing I frequently challenge those who are trying to help and/or teach me. I am learning and I have been sent down some dead ends in search for the facts. I do understand the legal reasons why some can't answer my questions. I even understand why I have to suspect the answers I am getting from my hosting company.
Thanks to all who have tried to help me.
Posted by photocartoonist at 1:52 PM
August 26, 2005
Update:: Domain Hijacking noevilproductions.com
Well it turns out my domain was the victim of an attack but not permanently. The registry records were not changed and I am guessing that since this domain was not yet being used by me in October 2004, that use of inactive domains might be a special form of hijacking. Turns out it is not hijacking, and it's not pagejacking in the usual definition of the word. And it is not a 302 redirect exploit of the search engines, as I first suspected.
It is still a mystery wrapped in a conundrum and it is beyond me still as to WHY anyone would do this.
Of course with all of the accusations against me I am a bit paranoid. Sometimes you really are being followed! There are people who have been trying to find something that proves I am corrupt; finding (maybe creating) anything that questions my integrity.
I will find out the WHO. I have the WHERE, IP address of the server that served those pages of porn and I will do whatever it takes to clear my name and clear my company.
I am hoping that this is a random act of piracy made possible by the fact that I did not lock my domain. It will be a dark day if I discover that this was another attack on my integrity. Was this personal?
Posted by photocartoonist at 6:53 PM | Comments (1)
My Side of the Story
by KAT CAVERLY
There is a lot of interest on WHO I am and What I do, so I would like to add my comments about a subject on which I have over 50 years of experience.
I am not a housewife.
I have never filed a lawsuit against anybody.
I have never hosted or linked to pornography on any of my websites.
I have had domains hijacked while they were parked.
I do tell artists when I find their content on websites.
I did take the side of the artists when some Humorweb members were sued.
I did forewarn the members of Humorweb about copyright infringement.
I did help some humor webmasters clean up the content on their sites.
I am a volunteer editor of the Open Directory Project (ODP).
I do not endorse all of the animation studios that have done work for me in the past.
I do not endorse all of the artists that have ever worked for me.
I do make it my business to review at least 2-3 websites every day.
I have helped artists learn how to find their content on the Web.
I was a member of Humorweb.
I was banned from Humorweb, twice.
The first time I was banned because of the lawsuits.
I did not sue any of them.
The second time I was banned because I removed sites from the ODP.
The sites did not feature content that I couldn't already find in the directory.
I never gave Humorweb members special consideration.
I do not target Humorweb members.
I only review the merits of the content on each site.
I have listed sites of my loudest critics.
I have removed my friend's sites.
I knew about the ODP and was listed there before I ever heard of Humorweb.
I have removed many sites from the ODP in many categories.
I have added many sites to the ODP in many categories.
I have added some of my own sites to the ODP.
I have removed some of my own sites from the ODP.
To my friends on Humorweb, thank you.
To my enemies on Humorweb, thank you.
Posted by photocartoonist at 12:17 AM
August 25, 2005
Whois using your Domain?
Thanks to the interest in me over at Humorweb, I was notified today that someone used my domain noevilproductions.com to host pornography while the domain was parked in October 2004.
I locked all of my domains in January or February this year, because I read about domain theft and today I discovered this usage from the archives on the Internet Archive and to be honest I still don't understand it.
The domain was not transfered, so it wasn't stolen. Someone just used it for links to Asian porn! How long did they use it? I am hoping I can get answers to my questions from my registrar and my admins.
I didn't notice it because the domain was not in use (at least not by me). So I am in the process of checking all of my domains and they are all locked now and have been for 8 months. Is there anything else I should be or shouldn't be doing to protect my domains?
Posted by photocartoonist at 11:08 PM | Comments (1)
August 21, 2005
Truth in the Dis-Information Age
Never has the old adage “just because you say so don’t make it so” been more true than on the Internet. But with so much information bombarding us every hour, every day, how many take the time to fact check?
Yes, I have an agenda. My agenda is my reputation and products are important assets to my company and I believe in affecting the Internet community positively. Therefore I actively police the Web for illegal usage of my products and I am an editor at the Open Directory Project.
It is obvious that many do not understand how the unauthorized use of intellectual property might hurt an artist, or a company. It is also obvious that the "If it is not tied down..." rule applies even more to the Internet.
There are many artists who just don't get that they are responsible for taking reasonable action to stop the infringment of their property. The courts are practical, and it IS a defense that the content is seen all over the Internet.
Content creators make their money by licensing the use of the products they create. The highest licensing value is for exclusive usage. If your intellectual property is strewn about the Internet for free or with too much non-exclusive licensing, you will not be able to land the lucrative deals.
I don't want to ruin anyone's life. In fact, my company's mission statment has been "We Bring Joy into People's Lives" since 1994. However, I will not allow the unauthorized usage of my work and I have spent considerable time learning how to track down and review websites.
I am losing faith in the general populations ability to not believe everything they hear and less of what they read. I see too much evidence that people simply believe whatever they want to believe and this philosophy is just dangerous.
Posted by photocartoonist at 5:10 PM | Comments (8)
August 16, 2004
Some Serious Funny Business
A Funny Webmaster and Artist Community
But seriously folks, for those of you whose business is funny The Funny Forum is devoted to funny business. If copyrights are your passion or you are looking for some guidance, this is a great place to start.
Many artists are not active on the Internet yet; some are turned off by all of the piracy. Host Kat Caverly hopes to create a community that will bring webmasters and artists together in an safe environment to discuss mutual interests and problems.
The forum requires members to have a website but if you are an artist contact the forum administrator and make a special request to join.
Posted by photocartoonist at 11:48 PM