Ethical Concern

[EMG]

I've had a user post a bunch of files by MzDominica who no longer has a presence on the web. My question is, should I leave them up or kill them. I don't allow copyrighted content but when there's nobody to even contact about the copyright things get a bit gray. So, If this were you, would you want your content preserved or your copyright protected if you were no longer around to protect it yourself?

[zapnosis]

Good question. If credit is given to the copyright holder, the material is provided for free and the content will be removed immediately if a complaint is made... then I only see one problem: will this open the floodgates??

Many Hypnodommes have been and gone. I have a library of mp3s that contains many sessions by retired Dommes. Some of these files are stone cold classics, labours of love, great combinations of technique, personality, passion and art. I would prefer that they didn't die with their Creators, but I figure that if those Dommes wanted to leave their work for posterity then They would have done so. Then again, does any artist want to be forgotten completely?

Arguably a few choice files to remember a great artist is one thing, exploiting someone's life work for a few easy clicks is very much another! If so, then it's a matter of being reasonable.

EMG, You have chosen well in the past, I'm sure You will continue to do so.
Thanks and regards,
Zap

[zapnosis]

p.s. She still has accounts on Niteflirt and Twitter. Even if She isn't active, she might still check in from time to time? Just an idea.
z

https://twitter.com/mzdominica2000?lang=en

https://www.niteflirt.com/mzdominica#profile

[EMG]

Yeah, her twitter hasn't been active since 2012 so she has either moved out of the digital realm or left the physical one entirely. Unless someone complains etc I'm going to to allow it. Because while I do plan to make sure my content is curated after I die, not everyone has that luxury. If you decide you want to post files from retired classics make sure you give credit. If you don't want it on your personal account, feel free to make one for the specific purpose of posting those files.

[sarnoga]

Good call EMG. I think you made the correct call and for the correct reasons.

I am pleased you are concerned about doing the right thing here. If an author has an active presence on the web or some other outlet I am not in favor of their stuff being posted, it is too much like stealing. On the other hand, If they are nowhere to be found, and if they have created files and those files are in danger of becoming lost perhaps permanently, I think they should be preserved. Proper credit to the author should of course be given. If they show up and ask that they be removed than by all means. Until then I say leave them up.

I for one have never posted a fly-by-night file for the purpose of getting a premium membership or for any other reason. The files I have created were done with a great deal of though, consideration, time and energy. I posted them because i wanted to share them with others and getting a premium membership for doing so was just a bonus. That said I would be very upset if someone took those files and tried to claim authorship. On the other hand I would be even more upset if something were to happen that were to cause my files to disappear forever. I created them for people to listen to and enjoy. When the day comes that I expire, I hope my files do not. Were this site to cease to exist for some reason and I was not around to find another place to post them, I would hope that someone would think enough of my files to find them a home on the web where they can be accessed and enjoyed.

On the other hand, even though most of my files are free, so long as they are available on this site, I would not want to see some other site using them as their own content without my permission even if they did give me credit. That doesn't mean I would be opposed to someone posting a few of my files on their personal web site or pages so long as credit was giving to WMM as the host of the file and to me as the author.

On a related note, I have no problem with people remixing my files and posting them here on WMM, so long as I am given credit. Should anyone ever mange to remix one of my files in such a way that I was mortally offended, I would request it be removed. It is hard for me to imagine how anyone could make a remix of any of my files that I would find that offensive, but I suppose someone who was really clever and equally unethical could remix a file in some way as to support a political candidate that I despise or to promote some egregious government program or piece of censorship. The likelyhood of that is small.

There have been a few instances where someone used large portions of material I had written in their own files without giving me credit. They did not use my voice but rather my words, and so many of them in the same way and order that I felt I should have been credited when i was not. At first, it upset me just a bit, then I decided that I would just look at it from they perspective that I had inspired them and that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. If someone uses huge chunks of something I created I would appreciate being credited but I doubt I will make a fuss over it so long as it is not being used in a pay file.

Anyway, EMG, good call and keep up the excellent work.

Regards,

Sarnoga

[cloudstalker]

I am the one posting her files, by the way. She is still alive, but happily retired, with no intention of returning. She has donated them to the public domain; I was one of her "work slaves", moderating her group and doing a lot of the sound editing.