[Darklink42]

Originally Posted by djpretzel

As a side note, for the existing mascot pages, one solution might be employing fan art. We wouldn't reinstate the fan art in the upper right hand corner, but it could liven up the pages themselves. We need to work on a basic boilerplate licensing agreement that we can use for fan art - I think we need to start exploring more synergy between the VG fan arrangement & VG fan art communities in general, and this is a good catalyst.

I actually had the same thought, just wasn't sure about the logistics of implementation. I'm also sorry to hear that we had to pull so many images, but I'm glad that they let the bios remain. There's a lot of good writing there, and after helping with the editing, it would be a shame to see them go. That being said, I'll be glad to help with writing new bios for mascots, and/or editing.

Thanks for being up front about it in so far as you could be DJP, and for doing your best to salvage/explain the situation with SE and with us.

[Polo]

1) Thanks for sticking up for our hard work and letting the bios stay online.

2) The Scrooge McDuck image we have now is technically fan art, not found in any instruction manual or game promo. (Drawn by Don Rosa.) We can change the "Pictured from" bit to "Fan art by: (artist)" for him and potential other cases. Is that a fair workaround?

3) Is Geno staying or going? He was created by Square and debuted in a game created by two companies just like Sora, who's gone.

[Dafydd]

Originally Posted by djpretzel

Speaking in generalities, many companies consider their characters an extension of their branding, and want to avoid any misconstrued endorsement or sense of something being "official" that could be perceived.

Fair enough - I believe that's the answer I was looking for.

Originally Posted by djpretzel

I acknowledge that my personal opinion matters less than the copyright owner's wishes.

Again, no argument there!

Originally Posted by djpretzel

As a side note, for the existing mascot pages, one solution might be employing fan art. We wouldn't reinstate the fan art in the upper right hand corner, but it could liven up the pages themselves.

If you think we could do that without getting in trouble again, I'm all for it! I'm sure there are plenty of people willing to help finding fan artwork, or make some.

[Mirby]

Originally Posted by Polo

3) Is Geno staying or going? He was created by Square and debuted in a game created by two companies just like Sora, who's gone.

Considering that Geno reappeared in Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga and that SE was credited for use of that character, it's an SE copyright so he will be going. Geno (and any other original SMRPG characters like Booster or Mallow) belong to SE.

[RECKENEFIN]

I think that fan art would be a good idea, even as a link in the top-right corner. It would avoid the copyright issues of using official artwork, and it would make the mascot section even more community-based. Plus, if someone is making artwork specifically for the mascot section, it could be tailored for the forum's purposes (no cut, paste, and edit markings and the like).

It would be a lot of work, but it might pay off to switch to fan art for all of our mascots, just to avoid any further copyright issues down the road. Having mascot art submissions and posting could also be fun for the more artistic, less musical members of the community. Not that I'm in either category.

My two cents. For what it's worth.

[The Coop]

Sorry to hear about all the work that got taken out of the spotlight. That sucks after all the work that was done.

[Dj Mokram]

Originally Posted by djpretzel

the copyright owner is concerned about their usage - as is their right - and we are complying with their wishes.

By this logic, will all SE avatars be removed as well? (seeing as they're basically sprites/art from the games)

[Dafydd]

Originally Posted by Dj Mokram

By this logic, will all SE avatars be removed as well? (seeing as they're basically sprites/art from the games)

Good question. I think (though I could be mistaken) the issue was with using mascots images in a way that made it seem like this was somehow official or affiliated with SE in any way - we broke the 3rd commandment, so to speak. I don't think the risks are very high anyone will take a forum member for an SE affiliate just because they have an SE sprite as their forum avatar, though it's still technically a copyright breach, if SE sees it that way. It's a discussion that doesn't really belong in this thread, though.

[Unununium]

Originally Posted by Mirby

Considering that Geno reappeared in Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga and that SE was credited for use of that character, it's an SE copyright so he will be going. Geno (and any other original SMRPG characters like Booster or Mallow) belong to SE.

I notice Geno is still there, so either it's an oversight or copyright isn't the entirety of the issue, that is to say, the sole criterion.

[Gario]

Originally Posted by Unununium

I notice Geno is still there, so either it's an oversight or copyright isn't the entirety of the issue, that is to say, the sole criterion.

That's probably an oversight, actually. Hopefully those that are responsible for taking the Square images down become aware of it and remove that one, as well.

As for avatars, if DjP doesn't remove them as options from the site then it's likely that they're not causing any problem, so I wouldn't worry about them. I'm not in the know on that, though, so take that with a grain of salt.