Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The Battle Over Original Content

I found this while reading The Oatmeal today.  The Oatmeal is a comic blog run by a guy who makes fun of everything.  Some of it's really funny, some if is less so, it's almost all crass, but most of the time I enjoy it.  It's become so popular, there's even an Oatmeal book, which you can find on The Oatmeal site if you are so interested.

Below is a link, not just to an Oatmeal comic, but to a problem he is having.  Apparently, there's a website called Funny Junk that has Oatmeal comics all over it without any credit or link back to the original artist.  The Oatmeal is not the only comic site to have this problem.  Click the link below for more info.
What should I do about FunnyJunk.com? - The Oatmeal

I decided that I would check out this site before deciding anything.  On it I found a *rebuttal to The Oatmeal and any other comic that is claiming the same issue.  Essentially FunnyJunk is blaming its users , saying that they are the ones posting The Oatmeal and other comic images.  If you are so inclined to read them, some of the comments from the FunnyJunk users make The Oatmeal seem tame in comparision.
http://funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/2156878/Dear+Comic+Makers/

As someone who posts original work on the internet (though not comics), I found this interesting.  Of course, there's the big risk that there will be someone, somewhere, who will take your work without crediting you.  I hope that never happens, but it could.  So what should The Oatmeal do about FunnyJunk.com?  What would you do if someone took your work without crediting you?  Whenever I post a blurb or an idea I found on someone else's blog, I always link back to them and most times I leave a comment telling them that I've posted this link on my site.  Why pretend?  How does benefit you?

*Note: The person/people who run FunnyJunk need to proofread better.  Their letter is terribly written.

**Update:  Apparently, FJ sent a reply to Oatmeal, seen below the original comic and, of course, The Oatmeal has created a comic in response.

8 comments:

  1. I've been following a bit of the Oatmeal/FunnyJunk mess and while I love his comic responses to FJ, I do worry that not much will come of it. Regardless of what the actual copyright rules are, sometimes online does seem to play out like the wild west where anything is available for the taking. Sometimes the person that stole content is punished (a la the Cook's Source controversy) but I feel like most of the time, there isn't much you can do.

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  2. I think it depends on how far you want to push something. Is it worth the time to ensure that all your work has been taken down from a site, or is it more about making a statement?

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  3. I feel like in a case like this, where it's users uploading content, there will never be a time when all of the copyrighted material is removed so this is probably more of a statement to be made.

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  4. I agree. Some of the FJ users seem to be totally overreacting though. I also think FJ is using this to get more attention for their site.

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  5. Agree on both sides. The FJ users are definitely overreacting and I do think this is bringing some more traffic over to FJ. I hadn't heard of the site till the Oatmeal wrote about it, but then again he said they had good traffic numbers anyway so who knows.

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  6. Update: The Oatmeal has posted a summary and update to the FunnyJunk situation.
    http://theoatmeal.com/blog/funnyjunk2

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  7. It's at least funny to watch how this plays out. I especially like the comment about how the FJ admin chooses his words. Thanks for the link!

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  8. I agree. Some people need to review what they write before they post it for all the internet to see.

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