Your2ndPlace

Moments ago, I got an IM from someone accusing me of using CopyBot because I was selling a product that they believed was theirs. This, of course, rubbed me the wrong way: I don't use Copybot, I don't LIKE Copybot, and I think Copybot is a horrid thing. The item in question was 'Male Dirty Biker Hair', which I was selling for 1 Linden - decent hair I picked up on SLExchange in a box, and which is everywhere. Since there aren't many options for men's hair, especially for new people, I thought it was a good deal for everyone, especially near a money tree.

After I AR'd the person harassing me, I took a look at the hair. When you right click on an object that is rezzed and select 'More' a few times, you can find 'Inspect'. So I inspected it, and saw the name, "Philips Replacement" as the creator. You can also find this in Edit mode, but Inspect gives you a nice history. Did Philips Replacement use copybot to copy the hair? I have no idea. They look similar. The name of the creator is Philips Replacement - not hiko Nino, the person sending me nasty IMs.

So what to do? I pull the product. But for all I know, this is an alternate avatar of the same person IMing me.

See, the problem with this is that anyone can accuse anyone of this sort of thing. They could do all sorts of things. And the tone which I immediately got was not a tone which allows for friendly conversation. In fact, it gets people muted and perhaps abuse reported for harassment.

Thus, two things:

(1) If you suspect someone has a copy of your stuff, talk to them nicely. Most people will look into these things, since copyright violation is a serious thing.

(2) It might pay to be careful when buying businesses in a box from SLExchange. First, people may have used copybot - though I find it unlikely in most cases. Secondly, they may be an alternate avatar of the actual creator who collects money, then forces you to stop selling their product through idle threats.

And - if you're going to say someone stole something - check who the creator is. Duh.

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