2010 FA War on Headgear

[Kindrift]

Pornographic artwork.

Submission removal: daigo is a mystery
Sent By: Dragoneer On: October 5th, 2010 10:04

Due to recent threats made against Fur Affinity and Ferrox Art LLC. by one Mr. Allan Greenwald (aka Lupine Assassin), FA is being forced to remove images depicting Mr. Greenwald's character(s) from its website. We regret that we must take this action, but due to continued legal attacks by Mr. Greenwald, we are complying with his wishes that his intellectual content be removed from our website.

We apologize for having to take these actions. We do not agree with them, and feel that Mr. Greenwald is overstepping his legal bounds against the rights of artists. He has recently threatened action against Fur Affinity and its artists for displaying images of his character, or those which bear resemblances to his character.

In order to protect ourselves from costly (and time-consuming) legal trouble, we are forced to take proper measures, taking action to remove the pictures from our servers.

Once again, we apologize for having to take these actions.

This drawing of a wolf or something is so indistinguishable from the character of Allan (they both wear something on their heads) that FA administration had no choice but to delete it.  By one report, FA has deleted over 600 pieces of artwork for such striking similarities to Allan's character.  This is regrettably required, as Allan has otherwise threatened to destroy the site.

Seems I asked for 4 pictures removed, and they remove all of them. Nice job, jackass.

Piche will most definitely be hailed a great hero when he corrects this terrible Allan-problem.  And unfortunately, that last line was not sarcastic.

[rodox_video]

Is there any verification on this "600 images" figure?

Also, doesn't Allan have, like, no fucking case whatsoever?

[a pigeon]

Is there any verification on this "600 images" figure?

Dunno about 600, but Allan said on Twitter that they removed "all" the images of him:

Seems I asked for 4 pictures removed, and they remove all of them. Nice job, jackass.

http://twitter.com/LupineAssassin/status/26513835048

I asked for 4 pics to be removed. Now artists I commissioned will be on my ass cos someone decided to remove them all.

http://twitter.com/LupineAssassin/status/26516431282

Also, Allan alleged in a journal that Dragoneer falsely claimed that he was planning to sue all the artists he'd commissioned and contacted all of them to relate it:

All my art was removed from FA....
....because Dragoneer sent notices out to everyone I commissioned, saying I was planning to sue them.

*pauses in disbelief*

I filed a DMCA complaint after my request to him was left unanswered. I wanted specific 'hate art' removed, because my likeness was being misused. He took it one step further and removed everything. Now artists I had mutual agreements with are taking turns screaming at me.

I AM NOT SUING ANYONE I COMMISSIONED. EVER. I APOLOGIZE FOR THE CONFUSION.

*writhes in spastic agony*

http://inkbunny.net/journalview.php?id=2018

Piche linked from his Twitter to a pastebin copy of a DMCA thing Allan had sent to him and which he was forwarded by FA's ISP:

We have received the following complaint regarding possible DMCA copyright infringement violations  hosted on your server. Please investigate this complaint and update us with what actions you have taken regarding it. Thank you.


Complaint is as follows:

I wish to report another picture misusing my character name and likeness:

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4583406


People are sore that I filed my first complaint, and they're taking their anger
out on me (again).

Just because they can change the name and colors of my character, doesn't mean
they're right to do so.

Please look into this for me. Thanks.

http://pastebin.com/JUMMwy61

I assume that you can't DMCA something for "misusing my character name and likeness" so Dragoneer presumably didn't have to remove the image and could have ignored Allan.

I saw it suggested on lulz.net that Princess Piche deliberately removed more images than was necessary in order to blow the issue up to make himself look better when it's resolved. That seems reasonable given that he recently made a big show of revisiting the Jibba aids drama bans, and then decided not to unban anyone anyway. Unnecessary mass removal of images and contacting everyone Allan commissioned (if true) would certainly suggest he wants to make this as big as possible.

[a pigeon]

This is the note Dragoneer sent to people on FA about the image removals:

Due to recent threats made against Fur Affinity and Ferrox Art LLC. by one Mr. Allan Greenwald (aka Lupine Assassin), FA is being forced to remove images depicting Mr. Greenwald's character(s) from its website. We regret that we must take this action, but due to continued legal attacks by Mr. Greenwald, we are complying with his wishes that his intellectual content be removed from our website.

We apologize for having to take these actions. We do not agree with them, and feel that Mr. Greenwald is overstepping his legal bounds against the rights of artists. He has recently threatened action against Fur Affinity and its artists for displaying images of his character, or those which bear resemblances to his character.

In order to protect ourselves from costly (and time-consuming) legal trouble, we are forced to take proper measures, taking action to remove the pictures from our servers.

Someone posted it in their journal: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/1765293/ (And Dragoneer commented repeatedly in it, again suggesting he wants to blow it up)

Dragoneer also copy-and-pasted Allan's original DMCA notice onto pastebin:

http://pastebin.com/fbDKXFGt

I am the copyright owner of the photographs being infringed at:

http://www.furaffinity.net

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4210425/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4128438/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3724766/

Combined with the additional image requested above, that's a total of 4 images Allan asked removed, not all of them, as per his twitter claims.

Edit:

Dragoneer's comments on a journal re the removals:

I could have fought it, argued it... but when they told me Allan's one request was that "all images of him be removed from the site" I went... "YEP! That's a good idea."

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/1765293/#cid:14760907

I gave him what he wanted.

Now let the artists he burned deal with it.

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/1765293/#cid:14758398

So he could have got away without having to remove the 4 images, but instead he deleted all pictures vaguely alike, heedless of the artists.

[Arche Kruz]

From what I have heard, apparently Neer's financial wellbeing is somewhat tied to the legal standing of  FA and Ferrox Art LLC. Basically, if he gets lawsuits filed against his site, he would be well and truly screwed.

[AshleyAshes]

I assume that you can't DMCA something for "misusing my character name and likeness" so Dragoneer presumably didn't have to remove the image and could have ignored Allan.

Not entirey.  As bogus as a DMCA claim can be you do have to file a response in return to it.  So you do have to refute it rather than ignore it or you yourself could get yourself in legal trouble.  Granted while it's quite unlikely that Allan would have persued legal trouble himself, it's not unreasonable to think someone with a bigger grudge agianst FA wouldn't use Allan to get FA in legal trouble.

Granted, the FA Admins should have exercised a lot more effort into ensuring an image is actually of Allan or the whole PR stunt blows up in their faces.

[MazelTovCocktail]

Wouldn't Dragoneer stand to gain more by standing up to Allan instead of making a show of blowing his request out of proportion?  The artists whose work is getting deleted know damn good and well that Allan doesn't have a case, and I'd think that Princess Piche is just as aware of that, so what does he have to gain by getting the artists pissed at him?  I don't think it'd be very hard for them to figure out what Piche's really trying to do.

[Jim Demintia]

Wouldn't Dragoneer stand to gain more by standing up to Allan instead of making a show of blowing his request out of proportion?  The artists whose work is getting deleted know damn good and well that Allan doesn't have a case, and I'd think that Princess Piche is just as aware of that, so what does he have to gain by getting the artists pissed at him?  I don't think it'd be very hard for them to figure out what Piche's really trying to do.

If the oft-repeated allegation that his personal finances are tied to FurAffinity, then no, he really doesn't, and he's mitigating risk. The thing is it's hard to explain what he's doing if that is not in fact the case, as you point out.

[Pi]

Not entirey.  As bogus as a DMCA claim can be you do have to file a response in return to it.

Except that an email from some asswipe claiming DMCA isn't a fucking claim, it's just an email from some dude.

Someone who knows what he's talking about (working at a hosting company and all):

but an actual DMCA notice has to be delivered to us via certified mail in the manner of a subpoena for it to mean anything, so i just laugh at and throw out the Mediasentry emails

Explaining any of Dragoneer's actions is easy: "does it give me attention and/or help me maintain popularity?" Overreacting to an email from some whiny cock is in his best interest so he can throw on the whole persecuted-hegemon act. Replying to the email with "fuck off until you've gotten a lawyer" doesn't bring him attention, torching a bunch of FA submissions with "ALLAN THREATENED DMCA" does.

Simple.

[a pigeon]

There seems to be a significant emotive lashing out component to Dragoneer's actions as well, he declared on furrydrama_2:

He wants to be left alone, then he shouldn't have fucking thrown DMCA rocks at a pissed off purple hornet's nest. I publicly took back what I said about him, bent over, and stood up for him. And THIS is how he repaid me? Dude outright stabbed me, and the community, in the back.

http://community.livejournal.com/furrydrama_2/209892.html?thread=17435876#t17435876

Very strong stuff.

He's even given a green light for hate art (which is supposed to be against the FA rules) of Allan on Furrydrama_2, in a comment made today:

What if a movement were started to draw hate art of my new brand new character, "Notallen C. Really"?. A muscular black wolf with blue eyes, matching Bandanna, who wears jeans?

No problem with that all.

http://community.livejournal.com/furrydrama_2/209892.html?thread=17439204#t17439204

[Jim Demintia]

He wants to be left alone, then he shouldn't have fucking thrown DMCA rocks at a pissed off purple hornet's nest. I publicly took back what I said about him, bent over, and stood up for him. And THIS is how he repaid me? Dude outright stabbed me, and the community, in the back.

Bit more emotion than usual from him.

[MazelTovCocktail]

There seems to be a significant emotive lashing out component to Dragoneer's actions as well, he declared on furrydrama_2:

He wants to be left alone, then he shouldn't have fucking thrown DMCA rocks at a pissed off purple hornet's nest. I publicly took back what I said about him, bent over, and stood up for him. And THIS is how he repaid me? Dude outright stabbed me, and the community, in the back.

http://community.livejournal.com/furrydrama_2/209892.html?thread=17435876#t17435876

Very strong stuff.

He's even given a green light for hate art (which is supposed to be against the FA rules) of Allan on Furrydrama_2, in a comment made today:

What if a movement were started to draw hate art of my new brand new character, "Notallen C. Really"?. A muscular black wolf with blue eyes, matching Bandanna, who wears jeans?

No problem with that all.

http://community.livejournal.com/furrydrama_2/209892.html?thread=17439204#t17439204

So basically, somebody's going to have hate art of Allan back up on FA, somebody will probably tip Allan off, Allan will e-mail Dragoneer and demand to have it taken down, and then what?

Princess Piche can't have it both ways.

[nrr]

So basically, somebody's going to have hate art of Allan back up on FA, somebody will probably tip Allan off, Allan will e-mail Dragoneer and demand to have it taken down, and then what?

Princess Piche can't have it both ways.

But, man, those pictures aren't actually of Allan's character!  They're of some other bandanna-wearing black wolf that happens to be a splitting image of his character!

What if a movement were started to draw hate art of my new brand new character, "Notallen C. Really"?. A muscular black wolf with blue eyes, matching Bandanna, who wears jeans?

Nope, totally not Allan's character at all!

[Pi]

So basically, somebody's going to have hate art of Allan back up on FA, somebody will probably tip Allan off, Allan will e-mail Dragoneer and demand to have it taken down, and then what?

Princess Piche can't have it both ways.

But, man, those pictures aren't actually of Allan's character!  They're of some other bandanna-wearing black wolf that happens to be a splitting image of his character!

otoh, http://forums.vivisector.org/index.php/topic,348.msg2686.html

[threadshitter]

While it's fun to watch a bunch of flailing around for what basically amounts to someone's stupid character concept, I have no sympathy for all parties involved. I Do like dragoneer removing all the pictures AND endorsing the trolling at the same time though.

[ProvincialTwit]

While it's fun to watch a bunch of flailing around for what basically amounts to someone's stupid character concept, I have no sympathy for all parties involved. I Do like dragoneer removing all the pictures AND endorsing the trolling at the same time though.

IAWTC.

'neer is a tool, a dramawhore, and an idiot, but...well, that -was- pretty funny.

[Dima]

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/1843122/

Well, I believe this means it is officially sanctioned, not that they are of course coming right out and saying "heh we are making Allan fancharacters to shame him we guess with vegetable names how wacky"

I assume these two pictures are vaguely related to make a massive nerd-laughing injoke: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4658003 & http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4661035

[Dr. Dos]

Kaitty's comic is a parody of a Pandemic 2 comic that's supposed to be able FA being shut down when Eevee was having fun hiding comments.



Furseiseki's is just a prequel explaining the green stuff in Dragoneer's teeth. They both have a habit of doing stuff with broccoli.

[Dima]

I get that, I am just making a guess at why they would promote this with vegetable nicknames, the forerunner (sciggle's fancharacter) being named broccoli.

[LordNagetiere]

It may actually be as much a celebration that you can have a generic wolf with a bandanna again as a character without traditional LA drama ensuing.