29 January 2015

A grump.

OK, today I'm going to do something I don't often do. I'm going to have a major grump.  Now, you may well ask, what have I got to grump about. Well, personally, not a lot as the subject of the grump doesn't affect me.

My major grump is about what is happening to my friends.  I'm grumbling about places like Pinterest and other similar boards where you can 'pin' things like patterns from books and magazines etc.  This sort of behaviour also happens on Facebook to a lesser degree and on blogs too - but not so often on those platforms.

I can understand why people scan books/patterns - I do as I want to preserve the book and not use it in case eventually it falls apart.  So, why DO people scan them and then put those scans online?  What do THEY actually gain from doing that?  Fame?  Fortune?  Followers?  It truly puzzles me.  All they're doing is denying another person or company of their income.

This action boils down to theft. Stealing. Robbery.  It's robbing the person who created the pattern/book of their income. Sometimes it's large companies and other times it's the self employed self publishing designer.  Even the large companies are affected and are less likely in future to invest their time and money in producing more pattern books.  Same with the small self publishing designers - they will give up too and probably even sooner.

Our craft only survives because of the patterns we already have and those who have the talent to provide more - don't let's destroy it.

So, please, if you're thinking of scanning and uploading ANYTHING that's from a  printed book or magazine THINK FIRST and please DON'T. Wherever you put something online it can be accessed and passed on.  

Would YOU publish your banking details online?  I think not.  By doing this it is exactly the same as publishing somebody else's bank details so that others can steal from their bank accounts.

Right - grump ended.

13 comments:

Gill Devon said...

I so agree with you. As a tatter with limited means I rely on to a large part the free patterns you and other tatters so generously publish online and regard them as a wonderful gift from you, but I never download patterns except from the originators own website. Downloading patterns scanned from magazines or books without paying the authors is theft which ever way you look at it and will only result in the decline in the number of patterns available and the designers and publishers becoming disillusioned. For the sake of our craft accept that the labourer is worthy of his/her hire and that free patterns are a gift not a right.

PS I am enjoying the TIAS

Sharren - Tatting in Greenwood, South Carolina said...

I agree - well said, Jane!

Andrea said...

Oh I so agree with every word Jane. X

Lace-lovin' Librarian ~ Diane said...

Well said, Jane!

Caseymini said...

Jane, that is a very good grump. It probably won't do much good, but at least people will read it and give it thought. Thank you for putting the thought out there.

Corina Meyfeldt said...

Well said. And I feel you did try to keep a nice, polite tone for this major grump.

Marty said...

Exactly so. If you want to scan your books and keep them whole that way, no biggie. BUT -- to put copyrighted patterns on the 'net for anyone is just plain rude, crude, unrefined, undignified, socially unacceptable thieving behavior.

Marilee Rockley said...

Thanks for saying it so well, Jane. The thing is, nice people who would never scan and upload a copyrighted pattern do re-pin and share such patterns without thinking.

YorkieSue said...

A good "grump" lady... And I totally agree with yer :-)

Anonymous said...

Very well said, Jane. I totally agree with you. Copyright violation is stealing, plain and simple.
StephanieW

Phyllis said...

Well said.

Sewicked said...

I've gone back to check my pins. I found a couple suspicious ones and deleted them (if they don't lead to a website I can identity, it's suspicious).

di said...

Sadly I would be one of those mindless 're pins. I will attempt to go back and see if I can tell which ones may be copyrighted.

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