Among the MANY things I collect are digital supplies that are free. It's like having a feast if I find them one after the other! I'm like an anteater not knowing which ant to eat first before they all run away. Sometimes I spend more time downloading the freebies than making digital layouts. At the end of the downloads, I am always guilty I wasted my time downloading than creating.
But I can't help it! I can't afford to buy digital supplies all the time. And the designers... they are so talented and generous! I love them all. I thank them all for sharing their hard-work with me. Their work is so beautiful, I just got to have 'em! I will have nightmares if I miss anything that is sooooo awesome! and the freebies...some of them don't last long - the link expires. So I got to get them while they are free!
Why do they give out freebies? Just because. They are kind-hearted. They are proud of their work. They want to be known. They want to make friends. They want to make a living. And all they want in return is a "little loving" and respect for the TOU.
I know what a little comment can do for someone. When I get one it makes me happy. I admit that sometimes I don't leave comments, especially when I'm downloading [on the sly] from the office. But I do leave comments most of the time. Sometimes it's just "x-x-x-x-x-x". No, it's not a border or an end to my comment. It means, "thank you so much for sharing, I love you!!!!"
Most of the designers have an on-line store and give out freebies to attract customers. Sometimes I feel guilty downloading all or most of the freebies I see in a store. To ease my guilt a little I'd purchase a kit here and there.
I have so much I don't even know where to begin, which one to use first, in which disc I've saved a particular one, blah-blah-blah, blah-blah.
The question now is what shall I do with all the freebies I collected? I can't give them away. I can't share them. I can't sell them. I can't claim anything I've altered. And if you look closely at those TOUs, some say you can't alter them in a way that it changes the original art, and that if you do, you have to mention you altered something [like re-coloring, adding another swirl to a swirl, for examples). Which makes sense, because what if you messed up a beautiful design by altering it? Don't want to blame the designer for an ugly design ;-)
Most of the layouts I make are that of my family, especially that of my daughter because there's always something happening with her and her friends and she takes lots of pictures. She's beginning to get interested in digital scrapbooking and has revised a few layouts I made, especially the journaling part. If she continues this interest and I let her use the supplies I have to decorate her album, or if someday, among other things, the discs were handed down to her, I would be SHARING. Would this scenario be against the TOU?
Family members land friends love my digital scrapbook pages and want copies for themselves, especially if they are on the pictures also. Would it be against some rule GIVING away copies of layouts made from freebies? And if they post copies of these on their own galleries, how can they give credit to the designer when they don't have that information? Will that be breaking the TOU?
Some say they'd pay me if I made a baby or Christmas or first school year album. Would that be against the rule? Can I say that they're paying me for the time I spent and the layout design I made by putting all the elements together, not the freebie? Would this be considered SELLING the freebie?
I really have to pay close attention to the TOUs. I swear I saw this statement in each freebie: PERSONAL USE ONLY.
Even the supplies I bought, the TOU states "for personal use only", and something like, "commercial use available, contact designer". OK now, I thought that if I paid for it, it's "mine", like a dress, or a purse, or a pair of shoes...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Yes, I think it's tough to keep up with the personal use TOUs. I didn't realize how important it would be to know which items in my digi stash are for personal use and which are commercial use or I would have tagged them as such when I got them and labeled them in Shoebox (like ACDSee but for Mac). I don't think you can use the personal ones for making things for friends and I've had similar requests so I wish I knew without doing a lot of digging through files what's what....I feel your pain LOL.
Take care,
Susan
http://www.digitalscrapbooktutorials.com
Just stand up with the rest of us and say "Hello my name is _______ and I am a digital freebie adict."
There are many of us out there. Some are better to admit it than many others. I, too, am a freebie addict who is bad about keeping up wit TOUs. But I barely have enough time to scrapbook my own stuff let alone stuff for someone else, so I guess it makes me FEEL less guilty. LOL
I understand that the artists/designers work hard to develop these items. I have tried my hand at a few myself. Personally I would be fine with it if someone used my stuff and just stated something like: "The elements/papers are from various artists. If any of this is your work please feel free to contact me to let me know and I will be happy to give your credits where due." But that's just me. Other's may have more of a need for validation, seeking credit to get more customers, etc.
Post a Comment