Search the Community

Myth No. 1: It’s on the Internet, so Anyone Can Use It. Legal Truth: This one is unwaveringly and unequivocally false. Claiming that all online content is free is like saying, “Hey, the front door of your house was open, so I just came in and took whatever I wanted.” Just because you find an image or blog post or article or video and you like it, you may not have permission to share it. “Folks run into problems when they do more than just link to something online,” Koustenis says. "When you directly copy or display the actual copyrighted material—in whole or part—even if you also provide a link to the original content, you're likely engaging in copyright infringement.” And what if you share content from a friend or a brand you follow that they didn't have a right to share? If they posted stolen content and you share it, Koustenis says you’re guilty of copyright infringement. “Knowledge or intent isn't required for copyright infringement liability,” she says. “Your right to share is only as good as the right to the original post. Know your source before you share.” So how do you figure out what’s OK to share and what’s not? Koustenis has a few smart tips:Look for built-in sharing options. Many professional photographers, like Gerard Tomko, keep multiple social media profiles that enable their fans to share images they’ve approved (and watermarked) for sharing. Matt Inman of The Oatmeal has social media sharing buttons at the bottom of every comic he creates. Blogs and news articles have share buttons, as do YouTube and Vimeo videos. When those social sharing buttons are present, you know it’s OK to use them and share the content.Share within the same social network. Similarly, the terms of service for a particular social networking service may permit sharing as long as it's contained within that service. Twitter’s terms of service, for example, state that anyone posting content on Twitter expressly agrees to permit “re-tweeting” by others within Twitter.Share licensed content. Use sources such as Copyright Clearance Center, Creative Commons and Wikimedia Commons to find content that's already been licensed for sharing. Google and Flickr both provide ways to limit your image search to licensed images only.When in doubt, ask for permission. See something floating around the Internet you love but don’t see how to easily share it? Reach out to the content creator/publisher/artist/reporter, and ask for permission. Be sure to say how and what you’d like to share, and agree to provide attribution. Myth No. 2: No Copyright Notice Means It’s Not Copyrighted. Legal Truth: “By U.S. copyright law, copyright is granted to a content creator the moment an idea is fixed into any tangible form,” Koustenis says. In plain English, that means that the moment a photographer clicks a shutter, a writer pens a story or an artist creates an image, it’s protected by copyright. The work doesn’t even have to be published to be protected by U.S. copyright laws. With regards to content published online, this means that every blog post and news article out there is copyrighted as well; images, music and videos are, too. Koustenis advises every website owner to put a copyright notice on their website. The footer is the most common area to do this, and you can do it today if you haven’t already. Registering a copyright is only necessary if you’re going to take legal action against someone for violating your copyright. In cases such as those, an attorney can help you expedite the copyright registration process. Myth No. 3: You Can’t Copyright Words. Legal Truth: Actually, you can. I once encountered three websites that had stolen, nearly verbatim, a single page of my website. After a brief fight, two of those pages were taken down. The other page never made it to publication because the copywriter who was asked to “polish” my stolen content by his client said, “Hey, I know this writer. You can’t use this.” (Thankfully, he had contacted me and let me know—I’m forever grateful.) “People may be confused here because they've heard you can’t copyright facts or ideas. This is true. But one’s expression of those facts and ideas is protected," Kousenis says. "When it comes to written expression, copyright infringement is determined by a measure of substantial similarity.” That means if you compare two pages—the copyrighted, original work and the potentially offending work side by side—they need to be substantially different in order to avoid copyright infringement. Even if you paraphrase, and change some words and the order of sentences, you can still be found guilty of copyright infringement and assessed the penalties you see cited below in Myth No. 5. Your best bet? Write your own stuff from scratch or hire someone to do it for you, if you’re not so great with words. Myth No. 4: If They Didn’t Want It Shared, They Shouldn't Have Posted It. Legal Truth: C’mon. You’re smarter than this. While the Internet makes is easy to share, that doesn’t mean you're granted a right to share just because you have an Internet connection. “There's plenty of public opinion today in favor of a copyright-free or at least a copyright-less Internet, and further evolution of copyright to keep up with the Internet age is almost certain,” Koustenis says. “But that doesn’t discount the importance of protecting and encouraging creative expression.” Myth No. 5: I Didn’t Know I Couldn’t Use That Content, so I Can’t Get in Trouble. Legal Truth: Use that same argument with the cop who pulls you over for running a red light or driving under the influence, and let me know how that works out for you. Ignorance of the law doesn’t excuse you from the law. When you steal stuff online, there are several actions that can be taken against you: The content creator can sue you. Are you ready for a lawsuit? Costs can be hefty. You may be liable for damages that run into the thousands of dollars—this photographer won almost $250,000 in damages.Your website can be shut down if you host stolen content. If you post stolen content on your site, the copyright owner can file a DMCA Takedown Notice with your hosting company. Not only can they force you to remove the content, but your entire site might be shut down if you don’t comply. So many people these days are most likely sharing content that's protected by copyrights. For additional reading and resources related to this topic, Koustenis recommends the following: The U.S. Copyright Office has useful guides and FAQs such as this one on fair use.Copyright & Fair Use from the Stanford University Libraries Mediashift: Your Guide to the Digital Media Revolution a PBS.org site. Source: https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/sharing-vs-stealing-5-myths-and-legal-truths-about-online-copyrights Comment: I didnt write this article but I find it useful to post here as reference because people dont click links anyway!

So here's my problem. I noticed that the game was slowing down 1 hour ago. I checked my internet and everything was fine, but later I was so unable to login back. Thus, I cleaned/deleted the registry, went to 3dxchat to download the .exe again and...now I can't login, or at least the site loads 5 minutes just to let me access and if I click on download nothing happens. It's raining here, so I thought there was an issue with my connection, but instead every other site loads, my download speed is normal, my modem is fine, but I've problems only with 3dxchat and previously a little of slow-loading with the forum. Is someone experiencing my same issue, or am I so lucky to face such problem just during my spare time ? Anyway checking with this site sometimes it seems it's down for everyone.. http://www.downforeveryoneorjustme.com/http://3dxchat.com/ Or not ? And I tried 3 different browsers getting the same result. PS: I repeat my internet is fine as I even tried to play a hd streaming video and it runs without problems. ----------- EDIT: I've managed to enter the site and clicking on Mirror the download starts normally, so there could be a problem with the direct link of 3dxchat, at least for me. I'll tag the thread as "Solved" later after having tested the game and if everything will work without problems. ---------- EDIT2: I've installed the game, but the update keeps loading without moving. And reading other replies it seems I'm not the only one. Hope someone of the team will reply here, or will fix this issue asap.

Hi there. Today something weird happened while chatting with a player of my list. Of course I didn't block/ignore by accident, but anyway we weren't able to read each other using the chat (local and private one). I tried to invite to my place, to use emote, to add as partner, etc..nothing worked and no pop-ups of "Request sent". In the end we've been forced to use gifts to communicate and suggest to restart the game. And later I got the confirmation about my pms, written but never arrived/sent. Is that a common issue, or perhaps could it depend on the internet connection of the other player ? Mine works without problems, so no clues about what happened during those 20-30 minutes of silence. Thanks

Original thread, A.W.O.L. With only 3 days until I get to be with my friends again, I just wanted to make a little note: Although I neither wanted nor needed this break from the game, I learned a while ago that when one's in dense jungle, with the rain lashing down, it's foolish to fight against it, complaining about the weather It's better instead, to relax and let nature take it's course... the heavy precipitation washing away your worries, the rising steam gently escaping through the canopy, while the normally cacophonous sounds of the forest are drowned out by the thick layer of moisture in the air. Be at peace with the surrounding environment and conditions So, I took this opportunity for respite, which is why I haven't been in touch with many of you via the forums. Upon recieving a message, I will of course, always endeavour to respond when time permits (which has been ample over the past week). Don't think for one second that you haven't been in my thoughts, but restraint against our instincts is one of the primary factors that separates us from the beasts of this world, though it's not always a bad thing In a few days though, everything should start to fall nicely back into a pattern, and don't get the point of this message twisted... I have missed the heck out of my friends, and can't wait to give everybody a hug (づ^‿^)づ returning to the wonderful conversations and interactions I so look forward to each day Oh, and don't worry, I'm bringing fe-Mael with me... hehe

Unfortunately, I'm going to be offline for about two weeks, due to the stupid way that phone companies switch over lines in this country nowadays meaning I will have no internet service whatsoever until the 5th of March (best estimate). This is not me intentionally taking a break, and I'm certainly not leaving the game, despite some trepidations I've had over the past month or so. I'd miss way too many of my friends way too much (some of you more than you may think), besides this is absolutely horrible timing Rest assured, I will be back to give the warmest hugs (づ^‿^)づ as soon as physically possible! I may get a few hours over the next couple of days to drop-in the game before my line is cut, but anyone who wants to reach me should leave a message here on the forums ASAP just to be safe, in case I don't have time. Hopefully no-one else leaves while I'm gone, and I return to stories of everybody having a wonderful time in my forced absence https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wV9_je85DE ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TiIgm0xY0A