A long time ago, in the days of Pazaa and Elmo, I wrote an article complaining about the street peddlers. At that time I was asked by the then Editor, Cyranojoe, this:
"Editor's Note: Well, who says what those peddlers do is not fair? When you sell a face part, right now you're giving up all rights to the thing, including future resale . . . doesn't Calvin Klein do that when he sells you a shirt in real life? What's the difference?"
I didn't think much of it. I probably answered in the BBS back then what I thought. Here is what I think now if anyone cares: Some products are marked not for resale. If you are not going into a Calvin Klein boutique, buying the stock, and then reselling it in a store down the road, I guess you are okay.
Places like ebay let people sell things they don't need or don't want, or things they bought just to resell. Claims of the wrong size or a bad gift always pop up along with "never been worn tags still on garment" and the like. Since Calvin Klein isn't making money off the stuff sold in his boutiques I guess it doesn't matter that you are reselling and claiming a profit, it's the same as the boutique in a way due to overheard charges like rent, property taxes, paying the staff and whatnot.
What's the difference then? There isn't one, so stopping resale of "unsellies" would be virtually impossible and there would be no way to regulate the price. The trading post is, an auction of sorts and therefore if someone is stupid enough to pay say, 6 million clams for the ugliest hair ever known to mankind . . . made out of pixels mind you, then that's their own stupidity and there isn't much one can say as a bystander other than I still believe that pixels aren't worth more than 1000 clams if even that much, and that it's sad to see a part you made sell for way more than you could have gotten for it.
But as the times change the "unsellies" have gotten worse and worse. Under a new name, "rares", the game has taken on a whole new level. Instead of a mere increase of 50 clams, some users are paying up to a million clams for ONE face part. This game is encouraging greed and it is creating vicious fights over nothing between friends, it leads to hacking to get clams and rares and it's just disgusting behavior all around.
It's sick and disgusting how obsessed some people have become over this practice. Yes, I still think it's wrong but I found a different way to bring it down. If you remake these rare parts, they are no longer rare . . . and then they decrease in value. Which I find mildly humorous. To watch people go "Ahhh nooo who remade that?!" and get into petty fights over it. Which isn't maybe the right answer but it has brought up a lot of debate in my "Whyville Life".
Basically, since nothing is copyrighted to you, the unique user on Whyville, that means I can go into Akbar's and remake anything I please, just so long as I am not selling it off the site. Generally speaking nobody makes pixel for pixel remakes of stuff that has recently been released or the artist still visits Whyville, but "dead" designers and long forgotten designs are free territory.
It is true that, it seems a little un-original to be remaking parts, but generally most remakes are remakes of an old remake of something someone didn't even think up anyways, they saw it in a store made by someone else. Actually, a lot of clothing is remakes of original ideas by high end designers or designers of the past, filtered down the system until it reaches that level at which the general public can afford, about three years out of date actually for most things, so it's worthless to buy anything in these shops like Target and WalMart unless you're really not all that trendy anyhow . . . . So, how can you call someone unoriginal when what you are doing, is just as unoriginal?
The other thing is, when you go to the store is there just ONE brand of everything? No. So . . . is ZipLock Containers anything more than a cheaper rip off of Tupperware? What about all those different plastic storage bags? Honestly . . . what makes Glad any different than ZipLock or
Saran? The name? The shape or size??
Even our dishes are remakes. All ceramic and glassware is based on the principle designs of vessels found in nature such as gourds, the truth is that a new medium always takes an old form. Of course, we have pushed the boundries of design and many pieces you would pick up now from your local glass blower or potter (or Ikea as this world would have it) are way more modern in appearance and you'd probably never guess the history of the craft.
Basically what I am saying is that people have an idea. One person will execute it one way which is going to inspire someone to execute the same idea and design a different way. It's not always wrong . . . and even what seems to be a bonified copy carbon for carbon can be unique and different. Honestly. This is dumb.
Whyville people . . . this rares game is foolish and greedy and just a reflection of how capitolism is affecting our youth. So, get over the remakes.
-BP
