A while ago, ~zer0dram0n posted a journal describing how [link] had apparently offered an RP, then given a list of characters, with images on photobucket.

Upon looking through the account, she found art from several well-known users, including herself. Apparently, the girl had taken the pictures and posted them there to use in RPs, after changing their names, personalities and clothes.

I know Zero had contacted photobucket about it, but there was never an update on the issue in her journal.


A few weeks ago, I had contact with bluesnowleopard myself, her having favorited one of my digital works on FA, and I respectfully asked her not to use my character, saying that it was for my own personal use, and close to my heart as one of my oldest characters.

She responded, and I quote: "i dont belive i have.ive had to many problems with someone about that and i dont use works as they are i alter them in the story.i just use pics for ideas nothing more.so no worries"

Me being the laid back person I am responded with a thanks for a return message, but I still worried about it being used without my consent. (Note no consent given, nor asked for.)

She said this in return: "i dont use the actual drawing i twick it to fit my stroy like change the clothes and the looks and coloring w/e i need to do so that it doesnt seem to be coppied."

Doesn't seem to be copied? Changing characteristics? For lack of a better term, stealing characters and altering them like a bad paint job in Grand Theft Auto?

This has never happened to me before, and I really don't want to be malicious, but at the same time, these are my characters, our characters, our souls laid out on paper and with pen, and taken up by someone who doesn't even know their real names, to use in roleplays without even bothering to credit.

I'm not a hacker, and I hate digging for personal information, but I did look up the photobucket account (password locked, of course,) and ran it through a copy of Nav.Net that I downloaded solely for this purpose.

She has over 90,000 images saved on that account. I don't know whether all of them are other peoples' characters or not, but... I'm actually very doubtful that they aren't.

The problem is that I don't know what to do about it. I know others have had this issue, and have reported it to photobucket, but I don't know if they've had responses, since photobucket is reportedly lax on their rules.

I don't want a flame war, and I don't want eight thousand comments popping up on her web pages, but at the same time, I wish there was a way to show her just how wrong she is, for doing something like this.

*sigh* Imagine a world without art 'borrowers'.