2008-12-26, 03:18
Something was brought to my attention recently (on Christmas Eve, sadly) which has upset me quite a bit. It's probably quite trivial in the grand scheme of things but I feel strongly about the principles of the matter. I'm only making a public thing of it because, as I've had no prior contact with the person in question, it's already been public for quite some time.
So I get an email asking why Aeon Stark is "copying" a skin called Chrome for Meedios. Obviously I'm a bit miffed by this given the hundreds - it might even be pushing 1,000, frighteningly enough - of hours I've spent making Aeon as unique as possible. The mailer generously supplies a link which I follow to find this:
This, then, is a skin for Meedios that, from what I can see, offers no indication to the user that it's a derivative work. Clearly, because it's being made for an entirely different app, this has caused some confusion and, in one case, a bit of anger. At no point was I asked about this, or even made aware of it until yesterday.
Thinking about it, though, I remember a similar occasion before of someone mailing me and asking if I'd consented to something a wee bit similar, in that case involving Aeon's old menu appearing in another Meedios skin, Vintage. It seems that both that Chrome are by the same author.
Having looked in a bit more detail at the history of these two skins, I have to say that it pains me to make an issue of this. The author is clearly a man of talent and inspiration, as evidenced by his previous work. What's happened, though, is that his inspiration has been increasingly replaced by mine to the point where it's now affecting me directly.
In short (bit late for that, heh), I am not happy about this situation. I hate speaking ill of talented people and have no intention of making this personal. However, I also place huge value on the rights of an artist to keep their work unique. I haven't sweated blood over Aeon to have it debuted elsewhere before I'm even done, under a different name without any prior discussion. I've requested that the overt similarities between Chrome and Aeon be removed immediately - ironically, I note that the author in question once requested that Vintage not be ported to XBMC - but also feel it necessary to make a statement here.
I don't want this matter to persist. I don't want emails accusing me of theft. I will not release screens of Aeon if this is the result. Hopefully you understand my feelings on the matter. If not, please tell me I'm an idiot and I'll try to see your point.
So I get an email asking why Aeon Stark is "copying" a skin called Chrome for Meedios. Obviously I'm a bit miffed by this given the hundreds - it might even be pushing 1,000, frighteningly enough - of hours I've spent making Aeon as unique as possible. The mailer generously supplies a link which I follow to find this:
This, then, is a skin for Meedios that, from what I can see, offers no indication to the user that it's a derivative work. Clearly, because it's being made for an entirely different app, this has caused some confusion and, in one case, a bit of anger. At no point was I asked about this, or even made aware of it until yesterday.
Thinking about it, though, I remember a similar occasion before of someone mailing me and asking if I'd consented to something a wee bit similar, in that case involving Aeon's old menu appearing in another Meedios skin, Vintage. It seems that both that Chrome are by the same author.
Having looked in a bit more detail at the history of these two skins, I have to say that it pains me to make an issue of this. The author is clearly a man of talent and inspiration, as evidenced by his previous work. What's happened, though, is that his inspiration has been increasingly replaced by mine to the point where it's now affecting me directly.
In short (bit late for that, heh), I am not happy about this situation. I hate speaking ill of talented people and have no intention of making this personal. However, I also place huge value on the rights of an artist to keep their work unique. I haven't sweated blood over Aeon to have it debuted elsewhere before I'm even done, under a different name without any prior discussion. I've requested that the overt similarities between Chrome and Aeon be removed immediately - ironically, I note that the author in question once requested that Vintage not be ported to XBMC - but also feel it necessary to make a statement here.
I don't want this matter to persist. I don't want emails accusing me of theft. I will not release screens of Aeon if this is the result. Hopefully you understand my feelings on the matter. If not, please tell me I'm an idiot and I'll try to see your point.
