Huh.
Kind of came from left field with that one, tricham. *Debate about copyright* *More debate about copyright* *More sparring over copyright* *Copyright stuff* *More copyright stuff* *Request for black women in tickling videos* ...buh?
Filesharing is an interesting legal issue, with many loopholes and no real solution. The thing is, you can't ban filesharing. There's no way it's ever going to happen because the programs in and of themselves aren't at fault. They're designed for sharing data over the internet. There's no harm in that, and to make that illegal would be an abomination against the constitution and american principles. Not to mention the fact that it would set a legal precedent for banning software (which would probably lead to banning violent videogames, et cetera, and who the hell wants THAT?) and would put governmental control and interference in a really retarded and petty place when there are so many other more important and more fucked up things that could use it a lot more.
In any event, people have been sharing files via FTP for basically as long as the internet has existed, and you can't go banning internet protocols. If filesharing is outlawed, everyone can always just fall back on FTP so there's no real point.
I'm not saying that it is or should be legal and that nobody should care, but it's something that happens that can't really be controlled without governing the internet like a police state. File sharing has existed since information sharing has existed and far predates the internet. Piracy isn't new, it's just getting much more publicity.
Personally, I think that what's-his-name (too lazy to look) using the picture without crediting is worse than the_rocking offering a tickle clip or two for free. At least he's not stripping them down of all identifying markings and using them as part of a personal signature.
The whole argument is fucking childish, though, with people arguing ad hominem and going back and forth on the same goddamned issue over and over and over again like some kind of Special Olympics tug-of-war. Both sides have their points, both sides make good arguments be they ethical, moral or legal. The thing is, THERE IS NO SOLUTION, and ARGUING ABOUT IT isn't going to MAKE ONE MAGICALLY APPEAR. Intentionally or not, people are going to offer copyrighted material for free. As a producer of any kind of media created for profit, you just kind of have to accept it as something that happens. It really sucks, but you have to remember that there are people who have actually been BUYING your product, and you've still been making money. Just write it off as a loss and move on. People have to jerk off to SOMETHING, you know, and if they're desperate enough to pirate and scour the internet for it, then maybe you should let them have that one little morsel of glimmering excitement for a series of brief moments in their dull, sexless lives.
TIB, you can ask the_rocking to stop distributing, but short of filing a lawsuit against him, there's not much you can do to prevent him from doing it. Even if you succeed in getting him to take down one clip or video, there are still many, many copies available on various filesharing programs or on private FTP servers. (Trust me, I've seen them. And don't worry, it's not just you; there are TONS of copyrighted tickling and bdsm videos available.) My advice is to either ask, accept the illegal sharer's response one way or the other and tell yourself you've done all you can, or else get to work assembling a good team of lawyers to take on everyone you can prove to be sharing your copyrighted material.
Now let's everyone argue about whether we should move the earth closer to the sun or further away.
