I got this email from IGN today

[badinsults]

Well, I got this email from IGN tonight. They essentially want to take stuff from Snes Central and add it to IGN. In all likelyhood I will say they can link to my base website (www.snescentral.com). What do you think?

Here is the email:

I've got two questions for you that I'd like your help on concerning your site. One is that we have a new critics' collection site (similar to RottenTomatoes.com) connected to IGN going on called GameStats.com, and we'd love it if we could link off to the reviews written for your site. Not sure how much it matters to you the way we run the business and treat sites we link to (some sites care a lot, some aren't concerned since they're doing it for love and not business), but we do not crimp a header or divert traffic in any way, or put ads on outsourced content (we do have a pause page before passing on to the site, but there's a bunch of reasons for that page.) Typically, we just talk to the site's manager and then, if they are game for listing with us, we crawl their site and add all the reviews and preview links; however, since the layout of SNES Central is game-centric instead of content-centric (you don't have a Reviews page, for example), it'd save me a lot (if you're interested in listing) if you could provide a database summary of the site. I'm not sure if you run on a site manager tool or just code it all by hand, but if you have a list or can generate a list of the URLs for your reviews, that'd help a lot. Ideally, it would be an Excel sheet with tabs for: URL, GAME_TITLE, SCORE (for reviews, no score for previews), AUTHOR (we don't list authors now, but we hope to soon), DATE_WRITTEN and QUOTE (a 200-character snipet from the text). However, any little bit you might have would help -- a URL list alone would be a big save.



Second, I came across your site just searching out info on rare stuff so that we could keep our archives up-to-date, and I came across your listing of the Star Fox Competition cart as well as some of the other rarities. Since there's never going to be a chance to catch those carts anywhere else (even Ebay doesn't have them), I was wondering what it would take to get permission if possible to use the cart scans. We could credit the scan provider in some way, though we typically don't have a credit system on box shots or cart pics (we do have a system for AP shots, for example), and I kind of don't want to have a name tagged onto the bottom of the image just because it doesn't really work with the way the site is laid out. So, it may well not work out, which is fine, I just figured I'd ask since I have you on the line.



Thanks much in advance if you can help in any way with the reviews and previews links.

[BHvrd]

I have to admit I don't know much about this kind of stuff and i'm not sure what kind of answer you're looking for but basically it sounds like they are saying "hey, give us your stuff for free without us even giving you credit".

2 quotes that piss me off:


AUTHOR (we don't list authors now, but we hope to soon)says to me, we at IGN are too good to give credit where credit is do.



We could credit the scan provider in some way, though we typically don't have a credit system on box shots or cart pics (we do have a system for AP shots, for example), and I kind of don't want to have a name tagged onto the bottom of the image just because it doesn't really work with the way the site is laid out.ditto



This being IGN even makes it worse "imo" since they make people pay for content that should be free.

I figure someone will be able to give you a way to respond to this, but I have no idea. Then again maybe i've missed the point entirely.

[badinsults]

No, you hit it right on the head. If they are unwilling to give credit for someone's work, and yet make money off it, they can can forget about it. I make my site available to everyone for free, and I hope that anyone who gives me images and other content for my site do not expect any sort of monetary award for it. I fully credit everything on my site where possible, and the fact that IGN is unwilling to do this makes me dislike their position even more.

[kai123]

I wouldn't do it either, they won't even give you credit. They are just wanting to leech off of your hard work.
IGN :rockets:

[§ Gideon §]

Congrats! Tell them you are flattered that they want to take credit for your work.

[badinsults]

I have wrote up my opinion on the subject on my new website here:

http://victory.soulnet.tk/articles/ign-feb2004/index.htm

[Flack]

This is the new trend of big web site business. It's like taking the idea of RottenTomato one step further. RottenTomato links to my site's movie reviews, but the link is a complete one (ie: my site doesn't appear in their window, and it shows my site's content in full, including the author, any ads I may run, etc). What IGN is doing is wanting your content without your site.

[Dangerboy]

DON'T DO IT.

I worked for GameShark when they partnered up with IGN, and I watched a TON of my cheats, tricks, and programmers code work get stolen. The nail in the coffin was the Sega Smash Pack collection for DC.

I spent an entire day converting, checking, and making sure all the ol Genesis tricks worked for every game on the disc. We (GS) were the only site to have this up, and of course my editor slapped my name all over it for my hardwork.

So the next day, I wake up and open IGN, and literally, copy and pasted complete with my (unintendned) typos I see "IGN EXCLUSIVE: SMASH PACK RIPPED OPEN:" my name was nowhere to be found. Fuck 'em.

*On a side note, if in the DC hey days any Phantasy Star players out there tried doing the "Dvorak" Keyboard mode trick, that was my little revenge. IGN, CheatCodes, and many other sites posted the phoney code, which, had they a brain cell to read it before steealing it, they'ed have realized the button processes spelled out BULLSHIT.

Jason

[Isometric_Bacon]

*On a side note, if in the DC hey days any Phantasy Star players out there tried doing the "Dvorak" Keyboard mode trick, that was my little revenge. IGN, CheatCodes, and many other sites posted the phoney code, which, had they a brain cell to read it before steealing it, they'ed have realized the button processes spelled out BULLSHIT.


That's pure class LOL , way to stick it to em.

[ManekiNeko]

Boy, that IGN. Just when you think you've run out of reasons to hate this once great site, they come up with another one.

JR

[Flack]

*On a side note, if in the DC hey days any Phantasy Star players out there tried doing the "Dvorak" Keyboard mode trick, that was my little revenge. IGN, CheatCodes, and many other sites posted the phoney code, which, had they a brain cell to read it before steealing it, they'ed have realized the button processes spelled out BULLSHIT.

That's funny. At work I right a lot of manuals to help other people, and my name invariably gets stripped from them. I always try to start sentences with intiials of my name, like: "Right-click on button, then ..." (for R.O.B., or Rob) and things like that so I can spot my own work. In one I hid "this place sucks" ... that took a while to plan out.

[Dangerboy]

Flack...that rules :)

[kainemaxwell]

That rocks Flack. But yeah if IGN's not going to give you credit for your hard work tell them no or try telling them if they want to use it they have to give you the credit you deserve now.

[YoshiM]

After you tell them "no" be sure to check their site from time to time to make sure they don't take your info anyway. Big or not they don't have the right to take your work without proper acknowledgement.

[rbudrick]

If they won't credit you, ask for royalties...one or the other. Tell them to take it, leave it, or stick it.

-Rob

[badinsults]

I do not want money, and I want all content on my site to remain ad free. I do Snes Central as a hobby, and do not ask for people to pay for content. As for the rarities stuff, I email the sellers for permission to use the images. Most don't care if I give them credit, but there are some that say that it is required. Plus if IGN takes the content from my site, what would be the point of going to my site?

[PDorr3]

Wow, talk about stealing www.gamerankings.com's idea O_O

[Spoony Bard]

Yes, IGN blatantly steals anything that isn't nailed down. They stole a large number of pictures of SvC: Chaos right when it came out from the website of a friend of mine. He hadn't put a watermark on them yet, a mistake he quickly rectified.

[Cmosfm]

This is bull, I can't believe that they asked permission to steal your work. I'd like to know who had the nerve to even write this e-mail.

I never use IGN for anything except the Collection Lister, which helps me out dramatically and the guy that's over it all, Nix, is a pretty cool guy. He's helped me get lots of games listed that I needed on there. Currently trying to get him to add Mattel's Aquarius as a system. Hope it happens.

Anyways, nah, don't let them use anything of yours, and your write up on it was dead on. Way to stick to to the man!

[Kejoriv]

Yea the only thing I use IGN for is the collection thing. It seems to me like that site is a huge leech. I have had a few buddies of mine asking for closeups of vg stuff they just bought on Ebay.

[Griking]

If they linked to all of your work wouldn't your bandwidth costs go thru the roof? And you get nothing in return?

I wouldn't do it

[punkoffgirl]

If they linked to all of your work wouldn't your bandwidth costs go thru the roof? And you get nothing in return?

I wouldn't do it

It says they'd crawl the site.. I'm assuming that means it wouldn't affect his bandwidth? Not sure.. crazy internet jargon :)

[gamergary]

IGN should be shut down because of this bullshit.
On a different note, Evan do you want some scans/pictures of Adventure of Rookie? (can't do board pictures because I don't have the right bit to open the cart)

[Flack]

If they linked to all of your work wouldn't your bandwidth costs go thru the roof? And you get nothing in return?

I wouldn't do it

It says they'd crawl the site.. I'm assuming that means it wouldn't affect his bandwidth? Not sure.. crazy internet jargon :)

Crawling a site is like what Google and other search engines do. It's basically a program/script/bot that goes through your site and determines the links to all your "stuff". When RottenTomato crawls my site, it means it finds my main review page, and then it gets all the links to my reviews.

So you can look at it one of two ways, either "wow, people on IGN will finally get to see my writing!" or "wow, IGN is stealing my work and taking credit for it." Just depends why you're doing it.

[badinsults]

If they linked to all of your work wouldn't your bandwidth costs go thru the roof? And you get nothing in return?

I wouldn't do it

It says they'd crawl the site.. I'm assuming that means it wouldn't affect his bandwidth? Not sure.. crazy internet jargon :)

Crawling a site is like what Google and other search engines do. It's basically a program/script/bot that goes through your site and determines the links to all your "stuff". When RottenTomato crawls my site, it means it finds my main review page, and then it gets all the links to my reviews.

So you can look at it one of two ways, either "wow, people on IGN will finally get to see my writing!" or "wow, IGN is stealing my work and taking credit for it." Just depends why you're doing it.

That wasn't the part that bothered me so much, it was taking images without crediting. It takes time to scan and edit things, so it is only fair.

[badinsults]

Haha, in case people were wondering about my signature, last night I found a page on Rotten Tomatoes with pictures taken directly from my site. This isn't the first instance of stealing that I have seen. Their article on the Star Fox Super Weekend was mildly plagerized from my site as well. Well, much like Ebaumsworld, what can you do.

[klausien]

I would say a BIG NO to IGN, ESPECIALLY since they are now under the Fox umbrella. Big business is why the US game market sucks so badly. Also, to echo everyone here, credit should always be given where it's due. F**K them. Your work is your intellectual property and a big company will do anything and everything to keep you out of it.

[Bojay1997]

They are a for profit company which has no interest in educating or informing gamers of anything. If they won't give you credit for all your hard work, they can compensate you financially. I would give them a big "no" on this one.