On the other hand if I take Luni's and simply flip them horizontily in any photo program I don't need to be a copy right cop or a graphic artist to see that Luni has manipulated Juni's work.

But you're assuming that Juni freely distributes the graphic pieces in order to just flip it and away it goes. Look at the mypda one. There are separate backgrounds (pixelly because of the gif format) for each calendar, tasks, etc.. with the label my Agenda..etc tatooed on the bottom. It's not just a simple manipulation. Juni grabbed his images from an Introduction to MSN 9 website, as did I.

But I guess, since we are finally in agreement, there's NO WAY Juni would EVER steal graphics or M$ images, right? So it's ok. Therefore since I didn't use Juni's images it's ok too! Glad we got that straightened out!

You guys sure are great!

ohh and hes a stickler for spellering

Darn, I don't have any popcorn handy...

"Your so called original work after they pulled the first set of skins is simply manipulation. I agree with Jafo that ppxskins by their actions or lack there of will slowly fade away... this situation will also harm the program ppx (which I might add appeared to be promising at first look) by scaring off potential skinners. I or any other skinner that is aware of how a respected skinner was treated will never take part in the ppx community. The precident has been set. Michael good luck and I would try to disasociate myself from the skin site you deny having anything to do with. Remove the interlinking and promote healthy creativity"

I just need to disassociate from all skinners. I personally see to it that every image is either purchased or created from scratch in the PPX default skins or any that I personally release on the PPX3k.com site. That is painstaking work but when someone else can claim the same about all skins they release, then we can talk about ethics, honor and integrity.

I saw PPX mentioned and Lonnie reared his ugly head, this is the reason I am here once again. Skinners should be no more scared to skin for PPX as they are for any other application, the same caveats apply in all of them. This is an ignorant argument and I am tired of it being used to cause panic to suggest to people they shouldn't skin for PPX. Hogwash. Actually they would have more freedom, because it seems to me that PPXSkins.com isn't a hypocrit. Last time I checked hypocrits were a bad thing.

All of you are in the exact same boat as Lonnie. Neither is more right or wrong then the other. The only thing you can do is remove attention from Lonnie but all anyone has done is fall into his trap once again.

At one stage a certain person was 'porting' Pixtudio's images/skins/icons to be used with the Opera Web Browser.

As an Admin for Pixtudio.com I contacted this person explaining he was in breach of Pixtudio's copyright.  He claimed English comprehension as his excuse and did nothing.

Subsequently I contacted Opera [the company] and explained the situation.  They immediately removed the 'problem' works from their site.  Their reasoning was that it is particularly bad form [publicity] to ostracise the very community you need to attract to assist in the promotion and betterment of their product.

It made good commercial sense to respect the rights of the artists who provide the skins for your program.  It is a symbiotic relationship, not dissociative.

Well-managed companies such as Stardock.com fully understand this symbiosis, hence this site [Wincusto]....and one darn good reason for that is that FrogBoy is also a skinner and knows both sides of the situation.

Now, any skinnable software company who fails to adequately support/assist/promote its product's skinners is likely to be less successful commercially than it would otherwise be.

Cutting off one's nose to spite one's face is rarely a good idea....

no. yesh .... what hes saying is screw with the real skinners and they will bail on the site and leave that company and site out to dry .. in the end all sites that support rippers, die out due to the lack of real skinners building stuff....got it now ?

"And so it is with you defending the behavior of PPXSKins and Lonnie. It also suggests you don't comprehend what this whole skinning idea is all about. It's not playing to the LOWEST common denominator. You want the best. Why you would ever let your affiliate host skins that cheapen your company image is beyond me."

I am defending all of you, believe it or not. Remember, I am not a skinner so I do not live by the same hypocrisies. There is no middle ground for me. Like I said, all my skins are 100% legit. I take nothing from other websites and purchase graphics out right. There is no borrowing. That is one reason in the beginning I got a little offended because I go to all this work and I have these people with blatantly borrowed images questioning my integrity, honor and ethics. I was baffled as to why people who live in glass houses were throwing rocks. Come on, Lonnies images look like Juni's because they got them from the same place. Example, MyPDA, http://specials.msn.com/msn9/new/default.HTM Do it for yourself, if I cut the House graphic for example, resize to 90 pixels in height (proportional), the image lays perfectly over the skins done by Lonnie and Juni. Since I am not a skinner and not a hypocrit I only defend PPXSkins.com's decision because where do you stop? If Lonnie gets it, so does Juni and about 99% of the other skinners. You got to be fair about it or the whole thing. Unless you are talking about playing favorites and then you get into being a hypocrit again and integrity issues arise again.

BUT I am realistic and willing to compromise and go along with what others accept. Doesn't mean I have to do what they accept or even say it is right.

Of course I only did any type of looking on this matter after Lonnie decided to be an idiot about everything. I do not condone his actions in the least but he has answered every single argument with something else. My position became is if he isn't left alone he will just ruin it for everyone, because the evidence is there, no one is right. Why give Lonnie any more fuel to take it out on all of you?

I will still continue to link to these sites that contain skins that have "borrowed" images but more then likely I will launch a skinning area again at PPX3k.com. Where skins are submitted and scrutinized for "borrowed" images. In my opionion, people who could hold up to the scrutiny would be what you call "real skinners" (someone else's words). Personally, I see you all as real skinners, just some are a little more misguided and ill-intentioned then others.

it´s rip of a rip and hardly worth all the uproar.

moshi...the whole issue of porting is an old and well traversed one.

The problem arises when someone ports from a port....it all gets very THIRD hand that way.

When determining who [if anyone] has copied a skin from whom....[not referring to OS imagery used by one skinner to create a related item] the difference is that the 'copy' may use the same CONCEPT of OS-imagery use as another skinner which means the latter's use is a COPY of the earlier work, though BOTH use 'borrowed' images.

Sure it's 'grey area', but here is a clear and simple example......

I create a Photoshop icon......from a Paintshop Pro image......

it's NQR as it's an inappropriate use in anyone's reasoning.

Joe Dickhead also uses a PhP image as a PSP icon......equally 'wrong', but also borrowing [polite word] from my innovation/creativity of using such an image.

Joe Dickhead is doubly damned....he has used an 'iffy' image association, AND he stole the idea of doing so from me.

Porting will ALWAYS be a problem.....the first BeOS theme was  brilliant [though most definitely 'illegal']....the second was just likely to be a cheap rip-off of the first .....and there-in lies the rub.

OS emulation in skinning has NEVER been sanctioned by the OS manufacturers....but a gentleman's agreement applies that it is not a 'bad thing' [tm] to engage in.

Copies of such, however end up in our sphere of influence....and needs must be discriminated against if shown to be copied in concept or execution.

well ... some people say that skinning is getting more mature (due to the reason that some people sell skins and others buy them). shouldn´t the rules get more "real life" then? the thaught of Juni sueing the other guy and trying to convince the judge that he stole the images first and therefore has some kind of copyright on them is hilarious.

sure, that "Lonnie the skinner" individual is lame as f**k and probably has some personality problems when he calls himself "Luni".

"innovation/creativity of using such an image." - that´s the point. there is very little, if any, innovation or creativity in doing so. sure not enough to be worth protected imho. you can not put something lame as an os port on the same level as something creative or innovative as the Pixtudio images.

btw: "gentleman´s agreement" is nothing but a polite word for hypocrisy and has no meaning in real life. try to explain somebody without bias why it should be ok to steal from one company (Microsoft in this case) but not from the other (Pixtudio).

the thaught of Juni sueing the other guy and trying to convince the judge that he stole the images first and therefore has some kind of copyright on them is hilarious.

moshi.....that is not the issue.....if I was the first to come up with the idea of a red sky and another person borrowed that....the latter could not argue that God invented the sky first.....not when I was the first to paint it red.

This isn't about ideals and absolutes....it's about the immediacy of copied interpretation.

but then i could also steal some images from Pixtudio and be the first to create an msstyle or (if mstyle is to close as format to WindowBlinds) a layout in a print magazine with them. i would be an innovator as Juni then, all other thiefs would be evil rippers as "Luni".

Microsoft is a real company and not some higher entity as God (at least not yet). they even sell skins, wallpapers and icons in their so-called PlusPack.