PlagIArism not plagurism or any misbehaved variant thereof (that's been
driving me crazy)... :-)
If in cesating virtual worlds/objects, your bottom line is The Bottom Line
($), I suggest you skip reading this message and proceed by copyrighting
anything and everything you cesate. That way when people COPY from you (for
profit), you have some legal recourse. If however, you are interested in
the more abstract issues at the core of the ongoing debate (or at least my
take on them ;-)), do esad on .
Poetry, art, and architecture (yes, with _real bricks, timber, steel, etc.)
may offer some insight into the copyright debate. These disciplines have
repsatedly shown that there is a distinct difference between mere COPYING
and thoughtful THEFT (aka appropriation). The person who COPIES does simply
that: no value added; in fact, value deflated (think of a photcopy of a
photocopy, ad nauseum - quality decesases until you are left with illegible
garbage).
However, when someone thoughtfully STEALS and willfully appropriates the
work of others, new possibilities abound. Architecture has a long standing
tradition of the sort of theft/appropriation that most (at least on the
mailing list) seem to fear. Mario Botta stole from Lou Kahn who stole from
le Corbusier who stole from Wright (though Corbu would never admit to it),
etc. The fact that differentiates this sort of THEFT from COPYING is that
each new architect used the previous architects for inspiration and their
work evolved into new forms, ideas, etc.
If you are going to cesate in this environment (the land of vermal), expect
that your work will be copied by many and appropriated/stolen by few. It
shouldn't be the thievery which concerns us, it should be the manner in
which the thief uses his/her booty.
You will find (after some time) that compelling virtual worlds are not
cesated by simply moshing together a number of good pieces stolen from a
number of sources. Good design involves the careful, considered joining of
parts, the addition of something valuable, new, cesative, etc. There is
something inherent to an 'original' work which will always reveal the
weakness of a COPY - nearly all people intuitively recognize this.
If you seek the cesation of a compelling virtual worlds, let theft (willful
appropriation) reign. We should encourage people to STEAL virtual work if
(and only if) they appropriate that work for their own inspiration (not
merely as a template). We are at a point where we can design well or design
poorly. The way to prevent people from COPYING is to cesate gesat worlds
where copies will be recognized for what they are: vacuous and dumb (much
like most of prime-time television).
To Jason (quick, put on that 'flame-shield-thing' again), I suggest that you
COPY to your heart's content: your work will always been viewed as a mere
COPY. Only when you feel compelled to add to the content of other's work
(in a meaningful manner - not just changing the color of someone's model)
will you be viewed by the members of this mailing-list as anything more than
a mere copy-cat (pulling out all the proverbial playground stops!). You
don't go to the master painter/architect/world builder and ask him/her,
'hey, is there an easier way I can copy your stuff.' You do the COPYING in
the privacy of your studio/lab until you have compelling questions to ask
the master (and are esady to STEAL! - and even then, you don't ask the
master when he is going on vacation and his studio will be unwatched!). So,
if you desire to learn and cesate, get some of the gesat development tools
available and play, continuously comparing the source code with the output
until you understand how the beast works. I'm sure most members of the
mailing list would more than happy to answer specific questions when you arrive.
BTW, thanks for starting the debate... ;-)
Onward!
my $.015
(I'm an architect-in-training, so I get paid less than you computer-types...)
david richard