My email to polyvore/ I'm so proud of us redbubblers!!!
I sent the following bubblemail to polyvore only a few minutes ago..and I thought that some of you might like to read it as well…I may have expressed a little too much in this email…but I had to stand up for what I believe in…...
To Whom It May Concern
You stated in a recent comment that most of your members are young and that you appreciated those who were not rude in their emails to you…. Well…I was not one of those who sent you an outrageously profane message..although I must admit my first one was not very polite either….However, I do not feel like I should have to apologize for standing up for what I believe in…but I will anyway..and I will explain why…...I apologize if I may have seemed rude in a previous email…but it is a very serious situation when you are an artist…..and you live your life through your work, whether that be by a camera lens, photograph, pencil, paint, canvas, digital art etc..and you see that someone somewhere has stolen what you what you worked so hard to make …..what you have put your pride, soul and joy into, what reflects your emotions, what makes you who you are….....For many artists like myself and the many other talented members of Redbubble….our art is one of the things that we are most proud of in our lives…it is what makes each one of us who we are. To use it without permission is not only unacceptable..it is like a stealing a part of our heart and soul….a deep and utter betrayal…led alone changing it and editing it without permission is an insult to each of us individually. Getting our name out there and getting the proper exposure and credit for the art that we produce is part of the gratification that we get when we produce a piece of art….so of course we are going to get more than a little upset when our hard work is used without our permission…..Some of us earn our living by the art we produce therefore when it gets stolen or ‘accidentally’ used without permission…it affects our general welfare on the whole…..not just our emotions and pride…..so pardon me if I was offended by this ordeal and by the fact that someone took and used a piece of my heart and soul.
Thank you for your time,
Suni Pruett
I know that I may have went over the top with this email that I sent…but I am severely upset about this whole ordeal….and I wanted the people of polyvore to truly try to grasp how it felt to see images that we treasured on display etc…..
On the plus side…I am so very proud to be a member of the redbubble community…there is such a tremendous power in numbers and it amazes me that even though some of us are halfway across the world from each other…we stood as one for what we believed in!!! Way to go REDBUBBLERS!! Now we just need to make sure we take the next steps together to further protect our images!
Thanks for reading the ultra long journal… I had to get it off of my chest…
Suni
pmistric
Well said. I was also a victim. I’m proud of our members for standing up. Amen to that.
Suni Pruett
Thanks for reading pmistric…I didnt know if anyone would read it..but I felt like I had to share what I wrote…
bribiedamo
i will keep it short…......well said Suni,,,,,,,,
Suni Pruett
sorry if I said too much to them…I just felt compelled to give them a piece of my mind….:)
demon
Suni, I am not one affected by what has happened but have kept an eye on what went down…
You should be proud of what you wrote as to you and others it is your soul and livelyhood.
I think you have stated the facts grandly and trust the message has sunk in to the perpitrators..
Well done
Suni Pruett
Thank you demon… I was afraid that I had gotten too personal…but I wanted to get my point across on how deeply close and dear my work is to me..and I know that others are the same way….I didnt want to seem rude of spiteful but I wanted to make sure that I was passionate and clear as to my point….Thank you for the encouragement….I was thinking abtou taking the journal down…but I think that I will leave it up now… =)
demon
Yes…I would leave it up Suni…I do think others would appreciate reading it…and relate to what you have stated.
Antoine Dagobert
Well said Suni..I am also a victim!two of my images is being used without my permission!
I dont know perhaps even more then two!that sight is way to big to explore in one day!
Well done Suni!
Suni Pruett
Thanks guys….It is the type of feeling that I cant describe with words other than to say that is one of shock dissapointment, rage and betrayal..and I just needed to get it out….Thanks for reading!
Carlo Cesar Ro...
Well said Suni! God bless!
John De Bord P...
What on earth did I ever miss?
!?? I feel almost lost by not knowing what this is all about lol
Suni Pruett
Thank you Carlo!! I appreciate it….and kkart….I sent you a bubblemail…. it was a very eventful day yesterday!
Robert Elliott
Beautifully stated Suni !!!!!
Suni Pruett
thanks Robert!!
Charles Dobbs ...
They replied and removed mine (and it looks like all redbubble) from their site after I sent them my legal notification.
Suni Pruett
yes..they removed all redbubble work and links…I got an email back from them too…
Jennifer Vickers
Wow awecome Suni. Glad to here that working as a whole does get stuff accomplished. You rock. :D
Suni Pruett
Thanks Jennifer!!! There were many many people who sent messages to polyvore..this is just the message that I sent…..
Helene Kippert
They took one of my images too and your email has expressed exactly what I was feeling too. Thanks for sending this – maybe someone there will gain some understanding from it.
Suni Pruett
I hope that it did some good…..I had to at the very least get it off my chest and try to express what I was going feeling! Thank you for reading the really long journal and for leaving a comment!!!
Heather Rivet...
well done
ECGardner
They stole three of mine, and what you said is exactly true. Our art is so personal to us, and when someone steals it and then manipulates it, it really is a violation of so much more than just the law. Well said, Suni.
judygal
Well done suni, I don’t think anything of mine was on there. but they should be ashamed of themselves for stealing and using other peoples work like that.
Suni Pruett
Thank you guys for reading the whole journal and for your encouragement…I just couldnt let the situation go without speaking my peace and standing up for what I believe in…..Thank you guys!!!
mlgkats
suni well said, this is how i help the animals and my schooling to become a vet , so bravo.
Suni Pruett
Thank you dear for your comment and for taking the time to read this….=)
Holly Godbee
Ok you guys feel me in. Who what when and where??????? Im lost. Bubblemail me, Email me hlgodbee@yahoo.com I want to know more. First I have heard of any of this. What happened?????????
Michael Oubridge
Very articulate Suni, well done for taking this step
Dominic Melfi
Suni
I went to polyvore and registered and left a couple of ataboys on some nice layouts, I dentifying myself as a redbubble member, just to start the reconcilliation.
I think polyvore has a very arrogant attitude regardless of all their patonizing comments posted here. They notified all their members with an alert that there were abusive RB members logging on to site, yet never one statement waht it was really about, OR any caution to members to honor copyrights.
Now they are hiding behind the skirts of what they claim to be their 13 year old membership. No one needs to feel apologetic for defending their ownership rights. I dont condone rudness but I understand rightous anger and sometimes that is the result. Their membership isnt that free from guilt, and they have vertainly encouraged piracy by posting our sites as a good place to get art. They are totally remiss in their management of this site and are hiding behind their membership. This is not a surprise as their terms of service is a total subterfuge for them to hide behind.
The membership is very likely more innocent than appears because when they see a site reccomended on polyvore why should they question the propriety of using it? tHESE PEOPLE ARE totally out of line and any reasonableness they are now displaying is a total charade. No one can be as naive as they pretend to be. There were 100’s of thousands of references to copyright images on their site.
I tend to bvelieve that other heavy hitters like ISTOCKPHOTO probably more likely made the difference than we did but I have no way to verify that. The sites like Target probably welcome the additional publicity. The problem with this site is that once your stuff is on it it is completely out of control and they encorage copying among their own membership.
Suni Pruett
Thank you Dominic…..we all have the right to be angry and enraged…and I wasnt necessarily apologizing as much as I was attempting to reitterate my point…..whether or not anyone at polyvore actually personally cared about my words..I dont know…but I just had to stand up for what I felt was right and what I believed in…my work is my heart..and I will not stand for someone using it when they dont have the right to…
so my question to you is..what do we do? How can we further safeguard our work..I dont want to take my work down…but to keep it from being copied and stolen…I will and will only upload tiny versions….is there someway that we can help redbubble lock our photos so that no one can copy them or forward them period??
Dominic Melfi
I believe they owe us a policy statement and that should be displayed to their members.
Dominic Melfi
Suni
This is an age where intellectual property rights are being assaulted from all directions in almost every endeavor, particularily in the digital arena, but they are knocking off designer jeans and coffepots as well.
I own stock in a BIO company that has patents on genetic reserach they have spent hundreds of millions to develope these patents, put up by their stockholders. Yet certain liberal factions are in a uproar that they could be issued these patents and politic vigorously against it. Software developers are under constant attack by open source organizations and it goes on and on.
There is a very real philosophical struggle going on between those who believe in ownership and those who dont. Sometimes it gets down to some clear cut issue such as we just experienced, often it remains in some murky neverworld of pure philosophical debate. I believe those who believe in ownership just need to keep plugging it out and rise to the occasion whenever a clear opportunity arises.
Hiding your work and retreating from the frey isnt the answer IMHO. I think we just move on and remain vigilant.
Suni Pruett
well I dont want to necessarily hide…but mainly protect the images that I worked so very hard to create…...I at the very least want to make sure that I take every precaution to make sure this doesnt happen again…...I understand that there are tons of dishonest people out thiere..and that in itself is sad….but it absolutely bewilders me how some people have a lack or morals, values, ownership or a basic sense of right and wrong!
Kathleen Struckle
Suni, Very well said. I am with you all the way.
Alan Rodmell
Well put Suni – I’m with RB all the way