“Serial copyright violator” should be plastered all over my forehead after my comic assignment because I walked passed all of the red lights to using content on the web. And guess what? I felt nothing.
I hold this self-righteous belief that once you post it online, guys, its fair game. Once someone posts something we know exactly what we can and can’t do according to our own abilities, desires, social standing, ergo the rhetorical situation. Yet what about the creator’s desire? What are their rights?
Pshhh! The internet is a gift from God, He would never reign down hell fire by imputing laws on the creation of the beloved GIF or even a Meme….
Would He?
But seriously...
As I sat down, nerding out to a Skullcap headphones instructional pamphlet, as if it was the first time I’ve ever seen one, it’s amazing what becomes valuable based on the situation. In the case of the internet, its content. Content on the internet came from somewhere and someone and the creator of the content ought to get credit. Yet I didn’t give birth to any hesitation in terms of right or wrong when finding content, in fact I honestly approached my assignment as if I was creating an object for the first time, as if the random pictures for my assignment came out of nowhere to become tools used to send a message, my message.
I believe the internet users see “the message” or “their vision” as more important than the original creation, or the messengers themselves. That they are adding more value to your message by recreating it. So it doesn’t become about ownership, which can translate to stickiness, but spreadability. The same rules that apply to tangible objects in our everyday life can sometimes have a hard time applying to the rapidly changing digital culture of the internet.
Simplicity I believe is the key to bypassing any legal ramification. For instance, take Emojis or stick figures, it has become so common of a product that there is no value in it. In my assignment to create a folding comic, I initially never considered the legal ramifications, yet when I was done.... and now that I think about it... I did consider using one of the folds to add a references slot.
So I guess I lied and this internet troll does have a soul… at least a tiny one.
For my assignment, I took my professors teachings as gospel and decided to channel in on making my message as simplistic as possible, so as to appeal to a broader audience. Thanks to my lack of artistic talent, I scanned the internet for my favorite types of cartoons/expression – stick figures. I couldn’t draw to satisfy another’s expectation, but I understood stick figures.
I had no fear of the ramification because if I think about it, technology is creating a world where ownership has become a limited term especially on the internet. Take for instance your “PrtScn/SysRQ” button on your keyboard or even the snapshots you take on your cell phone. When I click it does it ask me to be ethical when snapping a picture of someone else’s work or content? No. So rhetorically its appearances on our everyday technologies builds more of a case for the “flow of free information” versus ownership.
I never considered my actions infringing. It was just one of those decisions you make, and sometimes without thinking. I remember one day I am sitting in the library doing an assignment when mother nature calls. Now I had options, I’m in a public place with personal items, but what did I take for security?
My airphones…
As my book bag gawked at my logic.
As if, my air phone can act as insurance for major theft.
I told myself that no one outside of the confines of the University of Central Florida would ever see the results of my assignment. Even though I am claiming it as something created by me, it was more of an expression. So in actuality, I am sharing an expression.
Ultimately, the experience shows that our desires dictate the things we value and in this case, the internet and all its freedom. Yet with all great and powerful things, we need to be responsible and follow the laws that be, including respecting someone else’s work. So as I moonwalk over the ripples of my ideologies of freedom of the net, bypassing the picket fences of “All freedom matters”. I conceded to the idea that we all need to respect the copyright laws.