Why No-Mod?

[Callum Meriman]

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entity0x wrote:

Why spend time doing the cool flaming effect on a product, if it's just going to be replaced by some random texture?

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While I understand your pride might be hurt if people decide they don't like your textures, blocking the abilty for them to undo your mistakes only ends up costing you sales, respect and stars on the MP.

Take a look at some of the people who do allow their cheesy flame textures to be replaced and you see five star review after 5 star review.

Those reviews, the ones not complaining "no mod, unable to do ...." equate to a product that sells more. A product that sells more will have more people seeing it, some keeping the cheesy flames, and some just using the great mesh with their own textures over the top.

[Red Godde]

I think people should be able to share ideas and opinions, however there seems to be a very condescending/patronising tone in any response that doesn't agree, or has a different take on mod perms.

A very real reason for some items being sold no mod has already been mentioned - 'The one commercial reason that I can understand, is that a merchant can then offer the same item with a different texture.  It's not a model which I support but that's about the only "reason" I can see that fits.' The amount of time I have seen friends put in to learn 3D modeling software, and to make different items, especially rigged mesh, and all the other things that go along with running a business in sl, is significant. They would not be able to do it if they did not earn a certain amount of money. For some it is their RL income, and they work their asses off, fair play to them.

I don't believe that creators selling no mod items is 'severely restricting the creativity and freedom that used to be rampant in SL' no one is stopping any of you from making whatever you want, just go ahead and make it. Many people seem to feel very entitled to have whatever they want whenever they want it, and often have no idea about the work other put in, or care about the creators motivations or objectives. No one is forcing anyone to buy anything they don't want to. Instead of complaining here, go be creative if that is what you want.

[Penny Patton]

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Red Godde wrote:

I think people should be able to share ideas and opinions, however there seems to be a very condescending/patronising tone in any response that doesn't agree, or has a different take on mod perms.

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I'm sorry if any of my responses have come off that way and I'll take it on face value that you did not intend to come off that way either. Yes, creating content for SL does take time and effort, sometimes quite a bit of it. I am well aware of this as I have not only been selling content in SL since 2005, but I am a professional designer who creates content for television, print and videogames. This has been my profession since long before I joined SL so I am very much aware of the effort that goes into creating content, and 100% in support of content creators making money off of their creations.

This is why I disagree with the idea that selling items with mod perms puts any sort of dent in one's ability to make money off of their content. I point to the furry/anime avatar community which thrives upon moddable content asn an example. Many of the more popular and successful content creators in that community go so far as to release PSD files of their textures to make it eaven easier for customers to customize their purchases.

 

[Paul Hexem]

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Red Godde wrote:

I think people should be able to share ideas and opinions, however there seems to be a very condescending/patronising tone in any response that doesn't agree, or has a different take on mod perms.

A very real reason for some items being sold no mod has already been mentioned - 'The one commercial reason that I can understand, is that a merchant can then offer the same item with a different texture.  It's not a model which I support but that's about the only "reason" I can see that fits.' The amount of time I have seen friends put in to learn 3D modeling software, and to make different items, especially rigged mesh, and all the other things that go along with running a business in sl, is significant. They would not be able to do it if they did not earn a certain amount of money. For some it is their RL income, and they work their asses off, fair play to them.

I don't believe that creators selling no mod items is 'severely restricting the creativity and freedom that used to be rampant in SL' no one is stopping any of you from making whatever you want, just go ahead and make it. Many people seem to feel very entitled to have whatever they want whenever they want it, and often have no idea about the work other put in, or care about the creators motivations or objectives. No one is forcing anyone to buy anything they don't want to. Instead of complaining here, go be creative if that is what you want.

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Not sure which thread you're reading, but most of the people responding here are content creators already. It just so happens we have a better understanding of reality than the ones you're talking about, is all.

[Sassy Romano]

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Gadget Portal wrote:

 

Not sure which thread you're reading, but most of the people responding here

are

content creators already. It just so happens we have a better understanding of reality than the ones you're talking about, is all.

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Regardless, the permissions system is what it is and although many of us prefer to offer modify to our customers,  as customers ourselves and as frustrating as it may be, we still have to respect the decision of creators who wish to choose the "no mod" route.

[Penny Patton]

Agreed. If someone wishes to sell no-mod that is their business. That said, if that is how they choose to run their business, I'll be taking my business elsewhere. However, it is my belief that many people choose to release no-mod due to some fundamental misunderstandings with regards to how SL works (see anyone who claims they only release no-mod to protect their content) or due to a belief that it will somehow negatively affect their salesand that's why I think this is a topic worth having a discussion about.

 

[Red Godde]

There is the condescending tone I was referring too.

As it happens, you do not have a better understanding of reality, your opinion is not reality, your opinion is not superior to anyone else's. Step of the podium you put yourself on.

[Sassy Romano]

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Red Godde wrote:

There is the condescending tone I was referring too.

As it happens, you do not have a better understanding of reality, your opinion is not reality, your opinion is not superior to anyone else's. Step of the podium you put yourself on.

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Red, I tend to disagree.  Penny has made it quite clear that it's her belief that many creators are choosing "no modify" based on misunderstandings and I concur with that.  In fact it prevails throughout SL.

Examples:-

"The scripts are no mod so the object has to be."  The number of times i've had that conversation in the days when resizers in every prim were prevalant and couldn't be removed due to the no mod object.  Discussing with the creator and explaining would often turn a light bulb on.

"The sim is laggy so we put the shopping mall in the sky to reduce lag", a belief that proximity of scripts causes lag the nearer they were to the avatar.  (As a test, put Excel in the top right corner of the screen and put a benchmarking piece of software in the lower left... see if the benchmarking software returns a different result if you put Excel nearer to it!)

"The animations can't be changed inworld so there's no point setting them to modify".  Well yes there is, some animation scripts can't handle long names, being able to change a name fixes that quickly and simply without compromising anything about the animation.

Best one yet though, a full perm seller of mesh, including the .DAE believed that the format couldn't be edited externally in Blender but only uploaded into SL, believing this was protection.  No, in that case, it was a buggy DAE export function in an earlier version of Blender that didn't include some of the data blocks in the DAE export.  She really didn't want to listen and wouldn't export it in a later version of Blender so I just had to waste about 8 hours manually patching up the file to make it editable - as it should have been.

Penny is just asking creators to use modify if it's not in conflict with their commercial reasons and not fuelled by misunderstanding.

Since it was my reasoning that you picked out, as mentioned before, I understand and accept a creators commercial reason but lets not be dragged down silly diversions due to misunderstandings when there is no other objection.  As a creator and customer, I prefer modify and as others have said, if there's a choice between equal products, the one that gives me the most flexibility will be my choice.  It's up to each creator to choose their path, hopefully an educated one.

[GERI01]

If a prefab is sold with modify permissions, consumers need only to buy one copy of the prefab from one reseller. To have all the variations from all the other resellers, it is then a simple matter of ripping their textures.

[Sassy Romano]

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GERI01 wrote:

 To have all the variations from all the other resellers, it is then a simple matter of ripping their textures.

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Enlighten me... how would they go about that "simple" process of obtaining ALL the textures from all the other sellers. 

(hint:  it's NOT a simple process to get all the other textures!)

[Penny Patton]

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GERI01 wrote:

If a prefab is sold with modify permissions, consumers need only to buy one copy of the prefab from one reseller. To have all the variations from all the other resellers, it is then a simple matter of ripping their textures.

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Yeah, like Sassy pointed out....it doesn't work that way. In addition, if someone wants mod perms, it's generally because they want to do something with the item that they can't buy from the other resellers.

[GERI01]

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Sassy Romano wrote:

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GERI01 wrote:

 To have all the variations from all the other resellers, it is then a simple matter of ripping their textures.

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Enlighten me... how would they go about that "simple" process of obtaining ALL the textures from all the other sellers. 

(hint:  it's NOT a simple process to get all the other textures!)

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You do of course know better than this. You see someon with the same dress model, you have the texture in your cache, and it is yours to steal.

[Sassy Romano]

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GERI01 wrote:

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Sassy Romano wrote:

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GERI01 wrote:

 To have all the variations from all the other resellers, it is then a simple matter of ripping their textures.

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Enlighten me... how would they go about that "simple" process of obtaining ALL the textures from all the other sellers. 

(hint:  it's NOT a simple process to get all the other textures!)

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You do of course know better than this. You see someon with the same dress model, you have the texture in your cache, and it is yours to steal.

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Precisely my point.  That got me ONE texture.  You said "to have ALL the variations from ALL the other sellers"

So what you're saying is that I just need to wander around SL trying to find each and every version of the same thing BY CHANCE and then i'll have picked them up.  Technically yes it would work but geez, 20,000 regions... that's a hell of a lot of random wandering.

Really then, what we're saying is that you might by chance find another version but even then, it may not be the one you want so it's not really much of a serious issue is it?

[Codex Alpha]

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Penny Patton wrote:

Agreed. If someone wishes to sell no-mod that is their business. That said, if that is how they choose to run their business, I'll be taking my business elsewhere. However, it is my belief that many people choose to release no-mod due to some fundamental misunderstandings with regards to how SL works (see anyone who claims they only release no-mod to protect their content) or due to a belief that it will somehow negatively affect their salesand that's why I think this is a topic worth having a discussion about.

 

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Did you even comprehend my post that I typed out (even being more self-deprecating then I needed to be, but wanted to supply honesty for the sake of discussion), then you say it's about a 'fundamental misunderstanding of how SL works".

Lady, you're only 1 out of 33000+ SL users - and that is your opinion.

According to your blog, you state;

"The best policy of course, is to avoid no-copy/no-mod content altogether and to encourage your favourite content creators to abandon bad, anti-consumer business practices which prevent you from getting the full value out of your virtual land".

Huh? I build meshes and content so you can get the full value out of your land? Am I not doing that already by making an optimized mesh, optimized LOds, and optimized textures? Do I work for you now? Churning out meshes for pennies on the dollar so that you can use them to make money on your own sims? When did that license happen? I don't remember that anywhere! I thought I was making content for the average SL'ers to enjoy - products I wish were available to me when I started SL.

How evil of me to only let the customer own 1 Copy of a specialized, supposed-to-be precious item!

How dare I make a product(s) in appearance and function to only be a desktop/mantletop/tabletop ornament, but no! Penny thinks I should make it copy/mod so users can make it 20 stories tall if they want to!! Why not just use the product as intended? As a paperweight?

On many products there is little to no point to HAVE mod permissions, it's unneeded, especially if the product is made to work with classic avatars, and already includes scripts for size adjustment, color and texture changes, and sitting or animation positions.

How about if you don't like the existing sit animations (even though I see the same ones over and over), then don't buy the product?

Don't call other marketers 'bad' or 'anti-consumerist" because you don't agree with how they like to license their products. And yes, it is a license to use a product. The price of a product is determinate on the end use of it.

If I design a logo for a local band, knowing they are broke, I may only charge them $50 to help them out. However if it is a huge worldwide band, with plans and ability to sell millions around the globe I'm going to charge a much higher market rate.

If  logo is only on 100 t-shirts at a one-weekend event, the charge for the license is going to be much lower than licensing/selling a logo to a worldwide company who plans to sell 1000's of shirts monthly world wide.

This is the condescension that is spoken of, the elitist mentality in SL that I rail most against. Top names and big sellers basically trashing others because they don't agree with their practices.

Thats almost 'anti-competitive' by default. If you said that on these forums, noone would see the post because it would be removed. Stick it on a blog, out of LL's reach, and you're allowed to call creators 'bad' and 'anti-consumerist'

The fact is, you have it in your opinion that nocopy/nomod content is undesirable - but that opinion only applies to YOU.

If there is a concern of losing the item, that is EASILY solved by contacting the creator, or have LL put a REDELIVER button on the product page that could deal with that.

No mod has reasons, both prideful,practically, creatively, commercially, and cleverly.. Both no copy and no mod can be used or not used to increase the percieved value and preciousness of a product. Therefore in itself is a marketing strategy, and A VALID ONE.

I plan to make more 'collectible' products, in limited edition, similar to gacha.. some are going to have unique traits (once I can ramp up my production again once RL issues get out of the way). I have wonderful awesome plans, and many of them are going to include no copy, no mod content. And those plans don't include, nor need to, the ability to make the product 20 stories tall, or replaced with a crappy texture, and 'renaming' the item.

It won't be because I am practicing 'bad' , 'anti-consumerist' actions in SL. I just don't serve the tastes that you prefer.

I appreciate your opinion, and take it into consideration, as I always do, I just think you're missing a lot of potential in this, and denying valid reasons.

Maybe I don't want your item rezzed on your land the way you like to use it. So what. Work around it.

You're not entitled to nocopy/nomod just because you say so.

I still have the no mod/ no copy amazing octopus table by the way, it's great (though loooking dated cuz its years later). I treat it carefully, and never had a problem. If I could it rez it any where I liked, with multiple copies, then retexture, and rename it how I see fit - IT WOULD NOT BE THE SAME PRODUCT. AT ALL.

Note: I have products of varying permissions - I just don't want someone to be preaching that I am using 'bad practices' or 'anti consumerist' practices, so just like she may be 'educating' consumers about this, I'll 'educate' them of the other side of matters.

[Pamela Galli]

 

 

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Penny Patton wrote:

Agreed. If someone wishes to sell no-mod that is their business.  

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And that is the bottom line, isn't it?

[Pamela Galli]

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entity0x wrote:

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You're not entitled to nocopy/nomod just because you say so.

I still have the no mod/ no copy amazing octopus table by the way, it's great (though loooking dated cuz its years later). I treat it carefully, and never had a problem. If I could it rez it any where I liked, with multiple copies, then retexture, and rename it how I see fit - IT WOULD NOT BE THE SAME PRODUCT. AT ALL.

 

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http://forums-archive.secondlife.com/327/97/250020/1.html

 

[Bitsy Buccaneer]

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entity0x wrote:

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Penny Patton wrote:

Agreed. If someone wishes to sell no-mod that is their business. That said, if that is how they choose to run their business, I'll be taking my business elsewhere. However, it is my belief that many people choose to release no-mod due to some fundamental misunderstandings with regards to how SL works (see anyone who claims they only release no-mod to protect their content) or due to a belief that it will somehow negatively affect their salesand that's why I think this is a topic worth having a discussion about.

 

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Penny thinks I should make it copy/mod so users can make it 20 stories tall if they want to!!

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And breathe.

So you haven't seen Penny going on about the benefits of scaling down to get more out of a smaller parcel? She's been writing about it for years. The irony of your throwing such hyperbole is amusing, but it does indicate you don't understand what she's on about at all.

It might help if you read her writings more carefully and thoroughly. They might not change the way you create, but you've just spent a lot of time and energy on ranting here against something you seem to be taking far too personally and understanding her intentions would have saved you from that. Time and energy which could have been better spent attending to the RL life things you mentioned or otherwise getting closer to getting back into creating.

There are reasons why some creations are best made no copy or no mod, like game items, combat systems and such. If your desire is to position your works in the realm of fine art rather than consumer goods, then perhaps it does make sense to make them no copy, no mod.

What you should take from this thread and Penny's blog is that you will limit your market in doing so. But from what I think I understand of your project, you WANT to limit your market. Right? So it's really not fair to Penny or yourself or anyone in this thread to react as if it somehow threatens your planned awesomeness.

[Sassy Romano]

At this point, I propose that everyone counts to 10 and someone rezzes a no copy/no mod campfire and we can all have a group hug and sit around singing while roasting copy/mod marshmallows, while simultaneously hoping that everyone else turns up in the same dress as me such that I can snag the other 500 texture variations in one go!

*beams, ducks and runs*

[Codex Alpha]

It is only you and a few others that make conversations about the poster, and not about the topic, and as usual, here you are doing it again. With always the condescending manner.

This is not about me, I just supplied examples, and how I think through it.

And yes, unlike you, I read every word of the blog I cited, and fully understand Penny's position, and so I offered mine.

This is how forums work.

Notice, I am criticising Penny's opinion, not Penny. You would do well to learn from that example.

 

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Sassy Romano wrote:

At this point, I propose that everyone counts to 10 and someone rezzes a no copy/no mod campfire and we can all have a group hug and sit around singing while roasting copy/mod marshmallows, while simultaneously hoping that everyone else turns up in the same dress as me such that I can snag the other 500 texture variations in one go!

*beams, ducks and runs*

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We should, because this should go under 'shop talk'. We are all colleagues here, all supposedly in SL to have fun and create, so discussing ideas doesn't need to be a person vs person affair... People can change their views and opinions with new information, but attacking them personally does nothing, especially if the reply does not even address the points made, in agreement or otherwise by the original poster.

[Bitsy Buccaneer]

But I was replying to your attack on Penny. So if it was wrong for me to talk about you, then it was wrong for you to talk about Penny. Likewise it is also wrong for you to attack me as you've just done.

Please be careful how you read my tone and that of others. It seems to me that you are ascribing emotions to us which aren't there. Certainly you are with me.

Since you've read every word of Penny's blog, you must understand how strange it is to write something like "Penny thinks I should make it copy/mod so users can make it 20 stories tall if they want to!!" Can you at last chuckle at the irony there? Please? If nothing else, it would help you understand me.

As for the topic at hand, I prefer copy/mod for many of the reasons already cited. I also brought up this in my reply on the top of page 3:

"Mod lets each of us not only adjust things to suit our personal tastes, individual uses, graphics cards, graphics settings and preferred windlight, but to adapt when any of those change..... Bottom line - how you see your creations on your computer is not how I see them on mine. Your decisions might be perfect for you, but that doesn't mean they will be perfect for everyone else."

SL is not a static environment. Changes that they make (like adding in the advanced lighting, shadows and materials), new computers, all of that affects the way things look. We are not all seeing the same things the same way. That is part of SL. What was cutting edge, best practice two years ago may be (partially) outdated today. That is also part of SL. Mod lets us adapt.

I also mentioned the shared creativity which I believe is the greatest strength of SL. Someone makes textures, someone makes prims/sculpts/mesh, someone makes animations, someone scripts, someone else combines these pieces to make something which fits their own vision, tastes and needs and hopefully works for others as well. That is pretty amazing to be able to do. I don't feel the need to mod everything, but I am so grateful for every single piece of furniture or clothing I've modded along the years because they got me started in thinking about adapting and building. Even the ones where I ballsed it up and learned from my mistakes. Make that especially the ones where I ballsed it up because those are the ones I learned the most from. :matte-motes-smile:

No one person is ever going to be able to make something which suits the needs, tastes and preferences of everyone else. When something is moddable, it lets more avatars enjoy it (like swapping out sits for ones more appropriate to a child or furry avatar say). I and many others believe that this is a very good thing a great deal of the time.

Like many others, I completely acknowledge that there are times when no copy and/or no mod is appropriate. My 2nd to last hunt gift could be used as both decor/art and RP items. I asked RPers for guidance on things like perms and it was agreed that certain of the items needed to be no copy. So that's what they were. Hopefully I made the best choice for the most people. If it wasn't for some, I don't mind re-doing perms.

I think you have been reading in terms of a particular, much treasured project, and perhaps one that you have much of your sense of self wrapped up in, while the rest of us are writing more generally or about our own experiences and preferences. Perhaps your treasured project is indeed something which is most appropriate as no copy/no mod, but it really isn't fair to the rest of us to read our posts as if they were about your particular project. We aren't writing about this project. We couldn't be until you brought it up and even now, I don't think any of us know enough to say much.Think about it this way, if most of the grid was no copy/no mod, then the focus of your "wonderful awesome plans" (to use your words) would be that bit less unique, wonderful and awesome, right? That's not what you want for your project, is it?

[Pamela Galli]

Bitsy, this thread has made clear that some creators are unaware of the ramifications of making something with given perms, in this case No Mod. And some of those may read this thread may be grateful for the information.  

However, I know how it feels for someone to give unasked for advice amounting to " You would sell more if you did X." which is insulting because it presumes I am too ignorant and lazy to give much thought to my policies, and require outsiders to enlighten me about them, and also that I am so desperate for every penny I will do anything to make more sales.

 

Yet I have made all policy decisions after much deliberation. And I don't understand in a free market why any of my policies are anyone else's business, or why those of people who choose to make things no mod are. How are they "anti consumerist"? Are they injuring others in some way by offering these things for sale -- as for example iP theft does?

As a consumer everyone has a right to express and act on his preferences without aspersions being cast, and so do merchants.

[Red Godde]

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Sassy Romano wrote:

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Red Godde wrote:

There is the condescending tone I was referring too.

As it happens, you do not have a better understanding of reality, your opinion is not reality, your opinion is not superior to anyone else's. Step of the podium you put yourself on.

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Red, I tend to disagree.  Penny has made it quite clear that it's her belief that many creators are choosing "no modify" based on misunderstandings and I concur with that.  In fact it prevails throughout SL.

Examples:-

"The scripts are no mod so the object has to be."  The number of times i've had that conversation in the days when resizers in every prim were prevalant and couldn't be removed due to the no mod object.  Discussing with the creator and explaining would often turn a light bulb on.

"The sim is laggy so we put the shopping mall in the sky to reduce lag", a belief that proximity of scripts causes lag the nearer they were to the avatar.  (As a test, put Excel in the top right corner of the screen and put a benchmarking piece of software in the lower left... see if the benchmarking software returns a different result if you put Excel nearer to it!)

"The animations can't be changed inworld so there's no point setting them to modify".  Well yes there is, some animation scripts can't handle long names, being able to change a name fixes that quickly and simply without compromising anything about the animation.

Best one yet though, a full perm seller of mesh, including the .DAE believed that the format couldn't be edited externally in Blender but only uploaded into SL, believing this was protection.  No, in that case, it was a buggy DAE export function in an earlier version of Blender that didn't include some of the data blocks in the DAE export.  She really didn't want to listen and wouldn't export it in a later version of Blender so I just had to waste about 8 hours manually patching up the file to make it editable - as it should have been.

Penny is just asking creators to use modify if it's not in conflict with their commercial reasons and not fuelled by misunderstanding.

Since it was my reasoning that you picked out, as mentioned before, I understand and accept a creators commercial reason but lets not be dragged down silly diversions due to misunderstandings when there is no other objection.  As a creator and customer, I prefer modify and as others have said, if there's a choice between equal products, the one that gives me the most flexibility will be my choice.  It's up to each creator to choose their path, hopefully an educated one.

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I was responding to the comment posted by Gadget Portal, which I found to show the exact condescending tone I was referring to earlier. I understand some people are mistaken in their reasoning as to why they have items no-mod, if anyone in that category has learnt something from the original post that is great. However artistic integrity and the desire to protect a reputation have been scoffed at in this thread. I find those to be very valid reasons, if anyone doesn't agree that is fine, but don't tell me that makes the creator insecure or that they are overly 'precious'. Imagine you made a modifiable TShirt for example, and someone put a racist/homophobic/misogynistic symbol or slogan on it. When someone inspects that item the original creators name will be associated with that. I for one would not want to be associated with such content. If I am running an SL business that pays my RL bills etc, yes, I would be concerned with the damage that could be done to any reputation I have, and in turn my income.

[Amethyst Jetaime]

You bring up some important points that there is a lot of misunderstanding about and if a creator makes something no mod solely due to the mis-information you pointed out, then this post is valuable for that.

However, creators are within their rights to offer their creations with any permissions they choose.  They really don't have to have a reason to make things mod or no mod.  The free market decides if the creator makes the right choices for their target market. 

If you want items that have mod permissions only patronize those that offer them.  But I don't think it's appropriate to urge consumers to only patronize those that do.  It is up the consumer what they want  in a free market. 

Many residents just don't have the skills to do a lot of the mods you have listed, and they are satisfied with no mod.  Conversely many creators don't want their creations deconstructed and the parts used for other things, or they don't want people to mod their things to protect a hard won reputation for doing exceptional work.  Both reasons are valid as well as other reasons.

Don't get me wrong, I've always been one to want to mod most everything myself and prefer to buy mod when I do buy.  But I buy little because I create most of my own things where I have full permissions or buy full perm, so I can mod them as I please.  

I do buy some clothes and things from a select few designers that sell no mod, I have no problem with it.  These designers do top notch work and I demo them prior to purchase.  I only buy what I really like already and don't have any need to modify it. I don't begrudge not being able to tint clothes either, but will buy the item in different colors if I want more than one color just to support these talented people.  If I really want a dress in a fabulous fabric, I'll make a dress myself.

[Penny Patton]

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Amethyst Jetaime wrote:

  But I don't think it's appropriate to urge consumers to only patronize those that do.  It is up the consumer what they want  in a free market. 

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 I think you misunderstand. I have not once suggested creators have no right to release content however they deem appropriate. I also acknowledge there are circumstances where no-mod is probably the most appropriate way to distribute an item.

  My goal has been to shed light on the faulty reasoning given for much of the no-mod content in SL (ie: the mistaken beliefs that it protects from content theft or that there is no way to mod rigged mesh anyway) and (in the other article entity0x quotes from) to show people how to get more value from the land they pay monthly rent or tier on. When I encourage people to support creators who produce copy/mod content it is within the context of that information.

 Yes, it is up to the consumer as to what they want out of a free market, however an informed consumer is less likely to suffer buyer's remorse afterwards.

[Penny Patton]

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entity0x wrote:

And yes, unlike you, I read every word of the blog I cited, and fully understand Penny's position, and so I offered mine.

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No, no I can safely say you do not, but let me try to clarify my postion.

When I say many people in SL have "'a fundamental misunderstanding of how SL works" I explicitely described what I meant. I pointed out there are people who believe making their content no-mod somehow protects them from content theft when this is most certainly not true. The tools used in content theft don't care what perms you release your content as.

Does this describe you? No? Then I'm not talking about you, am I? 

There are content creators in SL who believe that rigged mesh cannot be modded and this is why they release rigged mesh as no-mod. They don't realize there's plenty that can be done with moddable rigged mesh which they are unintentionally prohibiting, simply because they never considered it.

Does this describe you? No? Then I'm not talking about you, am I?

There are content creators who mistakenly believe if you want to put a no-mod script inside an item, the item itself must also be no-mod.

Does this describe you? No? Then I'm not talking about you, am I?

THESE are examples of the creators I describe as misunderstanding how SL works and that is why Bitsy suggested you didn't understand me. If you had understood my position then you would have realized that this comment you were so offended by was describing a set of content creators that does exist but does not necessarily include you.

If you understood my position, then you would realize that in the article where you quoted me as saying "The best policy of course, is to avoid no-copy/no-mod content altogether and to encourage your favourite content creators to abandon bad, anti-consumer business practices which prevent you from getting the full value out of your virtual land" I am specifically talking about content creators who sell their content as no-mod due to the mistaken beliefs described above, or due to the common practice of selling items such as furniture no-copy for no other reason than to force users to buy multiple copies. There are even people who steal their content from other sources and make it no-mod in some ill-concieved attempt to cover their tracks. I will most definitely call these bad, anti-consumer practices.

Does this describe your reasoning behind selling no-copy/no-mod content? It did not sound that way to me. It sounded to me that you viewed your no-mod/no-copy creations as unique works of art, aimed at a market which places value on items which cannot be copied or altered, such as the Gatcha market where you pay a reduced fee for a random item, putting higher value (personal or resale) on those rare items which are not distributed as frequently. I don't particularly have a use for such items, but I understand some do and I certainly don't lump the sellers of such items in with the group described above.

As I've repeatedly stated throughout this thread, there are circumstances where it's understandable that a seller would want to release an item as no-mod or no-copy. My comments about specific reasons and practices shouldn't be taken as a broad brush condemning all content in SL which isn't released copy/mod.

I shouldn't have to address this next statement because I already have. Repeatedly. But it keeps coming up so here we go one more time. You said:

"You're not entitled to nocopy/nomod just because you say so."

When did I ever suggest I was entitled to your work with the perms I prefere? You can scour this entire thread and every article on my blog as much as you like and you will never find a single example, because I never said anything of the sort. Please don't put words in my mouth. 

 Rather, I place value on mod/copy perms for a variety of reasons (again, explained in this thread and the referenced articles) and will spend my money accordingly. For land purposes, I decribe standard SL features which allow users to get more value from the land they already pay for, value which they cannot take advantage of with no-mod/no-copy content so they should shop accordingly if they wish to use these features.

For avatars, I explain how the most common reasoning given for no-mod content such as mesh bodies do not reflect the realities of how SL works and so encourage those who sell no-mod based on that faulty reasoning to reconsider their position.

So how about it, does that help you understand my position a bit more, and perhaps understand the reactions you've received from others in this thread?