Thieves stealing Sam Light assets to use as their own ...

[nuntilappa 48]

It seems like more and more people are stealing the assets of Sam Light and uploading as their own mods on nexusmods and other places .

For example , this person here INIGO REPLACER . His mod contains the full asset of Sam Lights in the fomod folders . 

 

I have reported them a few times , some are taken down .  The others ?  Not so much .  SMMB is still out there but that is because it is still being hosted by the thief's very own website . 

Can anyone of you comrades and friends here take sometime and help reporting these people ? Doesn't seem like they give a dang about the hardwork of the author .

 

 

p/s : thanks , the author has finally removed his files .   

 

 

Edited August 26, 2022 by nuntilappa

[meraxes1982 0]

The one I tried (I don't use it now for mod compatibility reasons) was presented such that I thought it was expanding with permission of the original author.  For the record, as a user, not a modder, I'm not entirely clear on the consensus over when a mod that expands significantly on another becomes more of its own work than a copy of another's.  Though, I understand this to be more a matter of agreed etiquette in the community, since legally, all mods are the property of Bethesda anyhow.

 

That said, I just double-checked, and it is still available on one site as Sam Lite + SMP and Bodyslides.  Schaken Mods did have it, but can't access their site atm to see if it is still there, and I don't recall when last I saw it there.

[Darnexx 1,925]

Always keeping our Eyes open for People who not follower the EULA of SAM. 💪🏼

[meraxes1982 0]

@ DarnexxThe crazy thing is all the licensing statements and everything else most modders put up are paper tigers. I went down a DEEP rabbit hole based purely on this post.  It made me (law nerd that I am) ask: "Wait, what exactly ARE modders' rights to their creations?"  Short answer: F*****' ZERO.  Which is 100% in line with current U.S. IP law (for reasons) but also, is reflective of a legal community that generally fails to understand the nature of both gaming and modding.

The US courts (the only ones that matter for MOST of our games) are operating off of rulings from the mid and late 90s, and haven't really changed their understanding of games or the nature of modders' contributions.  As such, the only thing that really protects modders' intellectual control and ownership of their creations is the benevolence of the base game IP holders.  They have (rightly) calculated that letting modding thrive without interference is most profitable, even if modders may skim some dollars off by modding their IP.  They bring in so many dollars (it's a sales point) that it's worth giving up trying to pinch them.

You can understand the frustration among younger lawyers and legal scholars who grew up gaming (and perhaps still do ) when we see this and the legal system just DOES NOT UNDERSTAND that most mods, for top-selling games these days, fundamentally add value to those games in such a significant way that current IP law does not account for.  You cannot tell me that people would still be buying or playing Skyrim if there was not a way to load 1500 mods and turn it into your personal 4-8k fantasy land, a feat that could never remotely be accomplished under either vanilla version of the game+dlcs.  I wouldn't play this game if I couldn't mod it.  I strongly suspect 2/3 of players (minimum) would quit, en masse, if it was prohibited.  The law just isn't currently able to comprehend this kind of collaborative creation of media, so as to properly protect it and reward its contributors.

Edited September 23, 2022 by meraxes1982
grammar

[KouLeifoh 2,668]

@meraxes1982 It all boils down to common courtesy to mod authors with regards to the usage of their mods.

That other site cited some archaic abandonware logic regarding SAM and Vector's absence, but went ahead and stole my high poly SAM meshes, made some changes, and rebranded it as SMMB.  Even the fingernail meshes I created were stolen.  The most aggravating thing is that some folks here still occassionally ask me to support it regardless if they're aware of its origins.

[meraxes1982 0]

On 9/25/2022 at 3:07 AM, KouLeifoh said:

@meraxes1982 It all boils down to common courtesy to mod authors with regards to the usage of their mods.

That's my understanding as well and, while it lacks the force of law, I feel the modding community has always been just that, and it has thrived, not only on the basis of open sharing, but also, due to mutual respect.  I do still hope the law one day catches up with the realities of modern gaming, but I strongly suspect that will not happen while most of the judicial branch is composed of people who simply have never experienced any of these games.  I'm not asking them to become hard-core gamers, but a bit of experience with modding and what it adds to games would go a long way towards a new legal understanding of the relationship between mods and the games on which they are based.  There has not been a significant federal court decision on video game mods since the 1998 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision regarding Duke Nuke'em (Microstar v. Formgen, Inc.).  That one was based on the license agreement for the map making utility, and the fact they pretty much just made some maps, using the map utility alone, and then sold the package, or at least, that was the interpretation of the Court.  The fact that half of all gamers alive probably have never heard of Duke Nuke'em is telling enough.

On 9/25/2022 at 3:07 AM, KouLeifoh said:

That other site cited some archaic abandonware logic regarding SAM and Vector's absence, but went ahead and stole my high poly SAM meshes, made some changes, and rebranded it as SMMB.  Even the fingernail meshes I created were stolen.

Just confirming, but I'm assuming the one hosted by Baka Factory is also tainted by unsavory origins?  Is there a version of SAM Light that has bodyslides, or is that just the dumbest question?  I actually did not originally get it (never actually played with it, still setting up and ran into issues), from Schaken.  I only figured out it was there and saw the justification posted when it was mentioned here and I re-read everything on the site from whence I had obtained it (believing it was legit).  It made it all connect at that point.

 

On 9/25/2022 at 3:07 AM, KouLeifoh said:

The most aggravating thing is that some folks here still occassionally ask me to support it regardless if they're aware of its origins.

I would lose my shit on people asking me to support my stolen product.  Judging from most troubleshooting requests, 50-65% of modders just sweep things off the virtual shelves and throw them into their game cart without much thought, which is annoying enough I'm sure without adding insult to injury by not bothering to understand if the uploader has rights to the thing.

I swear to the gods, cannot remember where, but it was either here or LL, but it was clearly addressed to someone who is a regular and upstanding member of the community here (basically, someone who would be offended by the thievery), and they were asking about SMMB support for something, followed by several others asking the same.  I was like "Wow, that's bold..."

I've been working for a few months on trying to create a stable load, and it hasn't helped that I haven't seriously played since 2015 or so (basically when LE was still infinitely superior because NO SKSE or SkyUI for SE).  I'm playing catch-up on learning about new tools and animations, best body models and skins, best immersive mods and patches that can all play together, city and quest additions, etc...

Anyhow, appreciate your work, and thank you!  The game wouldn't be worth playing without the contributions from you and other modders.

Edited September 27, 2022 by meraxes1982

[SavrenX 8,973]

On 9/25/2022 at 5:07 PM, KouLeifoh said:

@meraxes1982 It all boils down to common courtesy to mod authors with regards to the usage of their mods.

This is very true.

The harsh reality is, there are no written and state-protected rules when it comes to "Free Mods" because we don't have copyright and legal protection. Nexus can only protect if everything happens in the Nexus area. Outside of Nexus...their powers no longer apply. Everything depends on the ethics of politeness in the community.

Let's say the same thing happens to modders like me, Lilyrim, Kirax, Team Tal, or similar modders (porters and modifiers). We use assets that don't really belong to us but the community is happy with the results. If it happens that someone takes our modified work and uploads it or reworks it, legally, we have no power from the start to protect our mods. All we can do is bark in front of the monitor screen. If we write don't upload anywhere else, it's more of a very deep request based on respect. But socially, social judgment is usually tougher even though the thief has a thick face.

I'm not afraid to say frankly here, if that one thief dares to tamper with my own mod, I will take all their mods and make it mine with the excuse of "Abandoned Mod" regardless of the truth. Don't mess with asian modder when it comes to piracy and thick face. I will take revenge in the same way. After all, many of my friends became their members because of other mods, not SAM. The spies are numerous and they keep sending me important mods via pm and google drive.

I also know some modders tamper with my files and upload them on their discord but for myself, as long as the ethics are still there and the community is happy, I have no problem. The problem is when someone uses an asset that doesn't belong to them from beginning, then feels as if they have the ownership and copyright as whole like that one thief.

Whatever mod I load here, as long as it's used for the sake of Vectorplexis and doesn't leave the web, please use it freely, no need permission, no problem. Write a simple credit is enough.

Edited September 27, 2022 by SavrenX

[kosmos84 92]

23 hours ago, SavrenX said:

This is very true.

The harsh reality is, there are no written and state-protected rules when it comes to "Free Mods" because we don't have copyright and legal protection. Nexus can only protect if everything happens in the Nexus area. Outside of Nexus...their powers no longer apply. Everything depends on the ethics of politeness in the community.

Let's say the same thing happens to modders like me, Lilyrim, Kirax, Team Tal, or similar modders (porters and modifiers). We use assets that don't really belong to us but the community is happy with the results. If it happens that someone takes our modified work and uploads it or reworks it, legally, we have no power from the start to protect our mods. All we can do is bark in front of the monitor screen. If we write don't upload anywhere else, it's more of a very deep request based on respect. But socially, social judgment is usually tougher even though the thief has a thick face.

I'm not afraid to say frankly here, if that one thief dares to tamper with my own mod, I will take all their mods and make it mine with the excuse of "Abandoned Mod" regardless of the truth. Don't mess with asian modder when it comes to piracy and thick face. I will take revenge in the same way. After all, many of my friends became their members because of other mods, not SAM. The spies are numerous and they keep sending me important mods via pm and google drive.

I also know some modders tamper with my files and upload them on their discord but for myself, as long as the ethics are still there and the community is happy, I have no problem. The problem is when someone uses an asset that doesn't belong to them from beginning, then feels as if they have the ownership and copyright as whole like that one thief.

Whatever mod I load here, as long as it's used for the sake of Vectorplexis and doesn't leave the web, please use it freely, no need permission, no problem. Write a simple credit is enough.

 

Your mods are actually being sold, uploaded illegally, "translated " ( with hidden paywall ) on a China's website called 3DMS, I am not sure if you have given them permission or not.  If I am guessing it probably have totaled up to millions of downloads. You could probably buy a house from the money . 

They have previously took a few of my skin textures and assets which I bought with interactive license and host on their website too until a friend showed me. I took down the mods eventually and they continue to host these illegally obtained mod, with native downloads on their very own site as well .  

Look at the picture I posted below, this is just the tip of the iceberg because the whole place is a rabbit hole . If you msg the host , they will tell you there is another hidden site which requires " membership " and they are openly selling Sam Assets and things they bought from modder's patreon . I refuse to pay these stealing morons so I don't have access to it . 

 

Edited September 28, 2022 by kosmos84

[SavrenX 8,973]

11 hours ago, kosmos84 said:

 

Your mods are actually being sold, uploaded illegally, "translated " ( with hidden paywall ) on a China's website called 3DMS, I am not sure if you have given them permission or not.  If I am guessing it probably have totaled up to millions of downloads. You could probably buy a house from the money . 

They have previously took a few of my skin textures and assets which I bought with interactive license and host on their website too until a friend showed me. I took down the mods eventually and they continue to host these illegally obtained mod, with native downloads on their very own site as well .  

Look at the picture I posted below, this is just the tip of the iceberg because the whole place is a rabbit hole . If you msg the host , they will tell you there is another hidden site which requires " membership " and they are openly selling Sam Assets and things they bought from modder's patreon . I refuse to pay these stealing morons so I don't have access to it . 

 

This....

You know... If not because my western friend around here and Facebook, etc... Maybe I will become another Skyrim GTX long time ago. Hahaha. 

Asian gamer and piracy kind grey area. Like...I hate you today but I will love you tomorrow. Lollll.

That's why when I see arrogant modder and thieves who act like they hold all the copyright....I really want piss them off by taking their mods....modding it and release it as mine. It's in the blood XD.

Example...Let say If I become jerk and take mods from my friends and turn it into super sexy with full hd quality... I'm pretty sure community kind confuse to act...they hate me but they like my mods....Hahahaha. But it's not worth to betray your friend for bunch of files. Seriously. 

But like I said many western friend remind me how to act with proper manner in social western modding world. Ask permission..credits...etc. 

So far that chinese website only using my old mod which...I don't care anymore because I can make better one today. Let them fun with my old mods. Haha.

I found my mods on another website too. Sometimes I'm thinking...why I keep my code anyway since all peoples can steal and most people there support it. Lol

\

Maybe someday I will become Robin hood. LOL. Take mods from thieves and share it to peoples Modded by me.

Edited September 29, 2022 by SavrenX

[Darnexx 1,925]

On 9/28/2022 at 3:05 PM, kosmos84 said:

 

Your mods are actually being sold, uploaded illegally, "translated " ( with hidden paywall ) on a China's website called 3DMS, I am not sure if you have given them permission or not.  If I am guessing it probably have totaled up to millions of downloads. You could probably buy a house from the money . 

Damn this is some fucked up shit... these People need to find the FREE real Mods and not pay for stolen work.....