I’d like to take a moment to review and clarify Rule 1.
“Plagiarized content” includes both uncredited assets, as well as assets (credited or not) that the creator has not given permission to use or edit. Giving credit does not grant a free pass to use something the artist has made clear is not to be used.
The FEGBA Asset Repository (thread) was created for the explicit purpose of providing a huge range of portraits, animations, map sprites, and tons of other graphics, that are all 100% free to use as you please. There are over 2,000 portraits and 500 battle animations already in, and it is updated regularly.
We understand there are some cultural differences in how asset use is perceived across regional communities, as well as that new users may not be familiar with the practices of “F2U” and “F2E” vs private works. An honest mistake isn’t grounds for user punishment. So here’s our process:
In the event that a plagiarized asset is found in a project:
- The original owner of the asset, or someone familiar with their work, notifies @staff.
- Staff will remove the download link and message the poster privately about the asset(s) in question. This is not a warning or punishment in itself. We can help suggest replacements from the repository that are OK to use.
- Once the creator removes the plagiarized content, we will unlock the post and the creator is free to host their project here from there on out.
This should be sufficient to address the vast majority of cases and avoid undue harshness toward honest mistakes.
However, refusal to remove an asset, insulting the staff when asked to remove an asset, reuploading a project without removing plagiarized content, and/or repeat offenses, will be met with administrative action up to and including:
- Permanent removal of project topic with a formal warning (one strike against account).
- In the case of extreme verbal abuse of staff, or multiple repeat offenses, suspension and/or termination of account.
Please don’t be “that guy”. Have a look around the graphics repo linked above, and if you see something you like that isn’t in the repo, contact the artist and ask for permission. It is better for both you and the artist to get a clear answer so you can find a replacement if needed, than for someone to have to report your topic and get staff involved.
(P.S. - A similar repository exists for music (thread). As for ASM/eventing, the FEU SkillSystem github, ASM topics on this forum, and the patches that have been included with FEBuilder are fair game.)