Thursday, March 26, 2009

Boundary Issues?

I just found out that someone (or perhaps more than one person) has entered all the patterns that they found here on my blog onto Ravelry. Many of these are not patterns that I have finished perfecting or test knitting. All of the write-ups they entered are incomplete and poorly done or inaccurate. On some of them, this person even Changed The Name of the pattern!!!

I am a designer. I do this professionally and have sold my designs for some years now. I take care and pride in what I put out there and am careful of what venue I use to post my patterns when they are "in process" and when they are complete.

Co-opting someone else's patterns as though they were your own and uploading them to Ravelry - especially when the designer is an active contributing member - is really offensive to me. Attributing the pattern to me is not enough to absolve you of this offensive action.

Designers have the right to be self-determining in where and in what manner their own designs are made public. Others do not have the right to take this upon themselves. Uploading or entering a pattern that the designer considers "not ready for Ravelry" is not your call.

Just because it is on someone's blog doesn't give you the right to make it available on another site, especially a site like Ravelry, which for many designers is considered a professional showcase of their art - it certainly was for me.

If you've done this to me or to other designers, I ask that you delete your entries unless and until you have the permission of the designer.

Oh, and... Thanks for the sleepless night.

1 comment:

Phlel said...

Wow! That is just, um, disgusting. I'm feeling tereible for you!