Clearing the air. Why I filed a DMCA notice yesterday on a Once Upon A Time fans photo. Plus correcting lots of lies & misdirection from the culprit.

So, let me start off by stating a couple obvious facts.

1- I dont actually LIKE teling people when they are wrong,. I'm just good at it & how many things that are clearly bullshit get passed off as truths in society because they go unchecked by anyone.

2- I had no intention of doing a post like this.... till the post that caused me to do this was made. Its a battle that shouldnt even be a battle, but, also one I am not just going to ignore.

3- You know how annoyed I am to even be doing this? Let me put it like this. I have currently 21 blog posts that I SHOULD be doing ahead of dealing with this.... thats how annoyed I am.

So some backstory context. Two days ago a fan set photographer posted a photo from Once Upon A Time that was clearly taken from her phone off the back of her camera. She posted it to give the fans something to look at till more properly edited photos can be put up later. Now, neither that photographer, or myself are naive enough to think people WONT use our photos. I have had mine posted in major blog sites articles linking back to the originating post. That isnt (at least in MY case) what this was about. The issue was that someone else posted the photo, cropped in even more to make it look like a different photo.... and then claimed it was theirs. At that point I was still unaware of this issue. I became aware of it, when a 2nd person I follow commented about the argument between the pair. As those of you who use twitter know, if 2 people you follow are involved in a convo, it will show up in YOUR timeline...even if it includes people that you DONT follow. When I looked into this thread to see more about it, I saw the full story. The photographer called out this woman for posting her photo cropped. INSTEAD of the woman apologizing, or at the least, removing the photo & saying she didnt know.... she doubled down and defended it, saying her child took the pic. When multiple people told her she was wrong, she again DIDNT apologize, but doubled down even more saying its no big deal, her kid has never done that before and still not removing the photo. Then I got involved. I told the photographer, in a tweet that included the violators handle in it so she could see it too, that the photog should file a DMCA claim. The photog told me she didnt want to go thru that hassle. In that time, the violator DARED us to do it HERE  .... so I made a request to the photog to buy the pic off her for $1, and once I owned it then I could make that claim. She did so.

This then let me post a completely different cropped version of the pic (more of the image than was originally posted), heavily tagged to show I own the original file. With that, I made a DMCA claim against the woman...as she asked for. Once that was done, to ME the issue was resolved. Funny enough, it was brought to my attention the woman I filed the claim against was the mother of a girl that I had to make an example out of at set the day before for disregarding the rules everyone else was living by. This suddenly explained A LOT about how that girl was acting, if her mother is thinks shes this entitled.... well.....

I wake up to "99+" notifications on my twitter. Not a rare thing for someone with 11K followers. But still a tad unexpected. It seemed 1/3 of them was a back & forth convo of 2 or 3 parties talking about how I acted about another tweet I had made, but in there was a handful telling me how rude, mean, disgusting I was for "bullying a child", as well as those of course defending what I did because they saw the facts, and not just what 1 party wanted them to see.... remember all the backstory I posted? Yes I supposedly bullied THAT child, by making a DMCA claim against her mom... not her, her mom.

Now, this is where things get really interesting. the user posted several tweets victim blaiming. It started with this nugget. Yes, she WHINED that I filed a claim for her posting copyrighted material without consent...remember this is exactly what she TOLD ME to do. Oh, she also still implied it was her kids photo. She followed up with this doozie  claiming I'm jealous of time shes spent with cast. We're talking about a cast I have met so often they know me and remember things they told me several weeks earlier, and remember when they made promises to me even when drunk. That cast? I dare to say I have spent more time in 1 conversation with 1 cast member, let alone multiple cast members than she has with the whole cast combined. There are points where I go out of my way to avoid seeing some cast because I run into them so often. there might be people who have met the cast more than I have, but I dont 1- care 2- believe she is 1 of those people.

Next up, was playing the victim card...errr... the whole deck.. You did in fact block Kat...but you failed to mention it was after you claimed the pic was yours, and dared me to file a DMCA. You blocked her, as you did me (funny you NEVER make mention of me in any of this.... guess you know how to pick your battles) because we called you out on it.

Next was this tweet, Kat isnt bullying you. You cant just throw around the "bullying" tag any time you dont get your way you imbecile. Also, YOU arent a kid. Are you? No. Lets not forget, your kid was outright breaking rules at set. Lets also not forget she knowingly stole someone elses work & passed it off as her own. Lets also not forget, you vouched for it, and TOLD US to file a DMCA. Thats not bullying. Even me calling you an imbecile isnt bullying. That is stating facts. Like it or not, sometimes, facts can be... mean? Not sure of a better word to put there. but mean is over stating it. Not Nice? Maybe thats better? I dont know. Facts are NOT one sided. They are NOT just happy, friendly, cheerful things. Facts DO include wrongdoing. In this case, the facts point to you doing wrong, either knowingly or not, and your daughter doing wrong, quite knowingly (any tween/teen knows right from wrong... she knows she didnt take that pic and her passing it off to you as such is wrong...and she knows it.). Perhaps you should take a class on bullying so you can accurately tell what true bullying is.

This tweet, I dont even know where to start with this. Incorrect, actually you know... that was easier to do than i thought. I've actually seen FIRST HAND how YOUR child pushes her way to the front of things.... including infront of a barricade.The person you claim pushed your child, was standing BEHIND a barricade that your daughter stepped in front of, and this isnt even teh only example I've personally witnessed of this. This is why I made the stand I did... a stand by the way pretty much every regular there applauded dont forget.... oh wait, I'm getting ahead of the story, arent I?.

This tweet. yes, that was ME. Do you know WHY that happened? No? Of course you dont, you werent there. It was done to show the absurdity of how YOUR DAUGHTER and her friend stepped infront of hundreds of people and just made themselves comfortable INFRONT of a barricade. Oh, and how did that all end? Right, security did NOTHING to me... because when he heard my point he knew I was right. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed they didnt take harsher actions.... like moving me AND your daughter & her friend behind...but in either case, the point was made and security in the end decided I wasnt in the wrong.

More using the "bullying" card here. Have you? Really? Because you werent even at the set. I'd get just off the top of my head at least 5 crew who would call her (and even me) far more patient than we probably should be with kids like yours who just push their way to the front. Just last time I was in Steveston 1 of the security apologized to ME for the way "the fans" acted when they (shocker) shoved in front of me. Did I shove them back? No, I gave into their entitled demands and got shut out of what I was there for at the moment (luckily I made up for it 2 mins later elsewhere). When security are apologizing to a 6'0 230 lb adult male for being pushed aside.... something is wrong with the kids that did it. There is a good reason I'm allowed to do a lot of the things I do at set, including getting pics others cant.... because the crew understand my points of view, and some even respect what I say. Just like with the protest the other day, they know when I say something its not a delusional fan feeling robbed, its someone who has a history of pointing out facts... like when someones kid & friend are knowingly in front of 100s of other people who are behind a barricade.

This tweet. Incorrect. I OFFERED to buy it, because she didnt WANT to go thru with the takedown notice, and I convinced her someone should or else you'll feel like its your right to do it again. She gave me the photo and "I" was the one who filed the DMCA notice... and I wasnt attacking your child.... I was attacking YOU. The one who posted the photo, refused to take it down & dared me to file a DMCA. YOU did that, not your child. I find fault with your child on some things, but this 1 is 100% on YOU, the adult.

Just when I thought I was done with this, you've added more....
Who said you were lying? At any point who said that? Did I say you USED your daughters percieved issues, and your possible illness? YES. I stated THAT. Not once did I say that they couldnt be real. This is such a stereotypical victim blaming tactic. Use any and all heart string statements you can fit into something to make the percentage of people who are instinctively compassionate for "hard luck stories" to take your side. Was your cancer relevant to telling the story? No. You added it for sympathy. That ENTIRE paragraph was worded to garner sympathy, to make people feel bad for you and NONE of it was relevant to any storytelling. If you had stuck to facts, I probably would have not gone thru your entire twitter feed & torn you apart like this... I probably would have replied to JUST the letter. But, you had to try & buy sympathy. Heres a reality check lady, EVERYONE has their own battles. Everyone. So your "we've had it hard" story is a carbon copy of 90% of society in some way, shape or form. USING it to gain sympathy is pretty low & speaks of your character more than anything else so far I've discussed here.

This tweet. You never removed it immediately because you wanted to find out for yourself? Fair point.... and I would have accepted that if you didnt actually DARE US to make a DMCA claim. That voids any claim of innocence on your side. that defiant 4 letter, 2 word tweet was the problem more than all the other things you said.

This tweet. Incorrect. "She" never involved me... "I" involved me. Her first reaction was to just let it go. I am the one who decided to take this on so as to stop YOU from going on acting like the entitled brat you are.
 
This tweet Not entirely true. It wasnt "paperwork" for starters, it was digital, thus the D in DMCA. But thats really semantics. the bigger issue is you continuing to claim "she" SENT me after you. Get it thru your head, I sent me after you.Why arent you attacking ME? You keep attacking her.... but not me. Is it because you realize that I am someone you cant just bully? Ironic.

The letter that caused much of this brouhaha... lets break this down lie/irrelevant point by lie/irrelevant point.

First paragraph... so far, I am okay with what was said.

Second paragraph. You were called a liar AFTER you defiantly insisted it was your daughters photo. Twitter chain goes like this.
Your post with the photo (since then removed via DMCA from "someone")
Photographers reply "excuse me? Thats my photo".... Is she saying your a liar? NO. Stating a fact? Yes.
Your reply and this is an important one "really, because my daughter took it" RIGHT. THERE. thats the moment you crossed a threshhold from innocent mistake to liar. from there on out, anything you say should be along the lines of "I'm sorry... it appears I'm wrong. I'll remove it". But you dont... instead, this goes on.
Photographer then SHOWS you the original photo tweet
You reply its from your daughters device, she doesnt need to take other peoples she has lots of her own..... doubling down on defiance.
This went on for dozens more tweets before I even got involved.

So, back to your letter..... you were TOLD and SHOWN proof the photo wasnt your daughters, and still defied the photographers requests? Even when others (including eventually me) came in to verify it? A normal self respecting person with any moral compass would cower to this evidence and accept they were in the wrong, remove the image, and apologize. Not you however, INSTEAD you dared her &/or I to file a DMCA against you. So I did. Also "just a kid" is a valid statement if she was 6 or 7 or 8, yours is like 12 or 13ish from what I see. If shes old enough to possibly be in high school, shes old enough to KNOW right from wrong. In this case, she KNEW, she just didnt CARE.... which is a problem not just on her, but her parents for raising her that way. Or, maybe she was raised properly, and she has developed reasons to ignore her training? In either case.... knows wrong from right, chose to ignore it etc.

If your daughter, at that age DOESNT know she did anything wrong..... *heavy sigh* you are in severe need of help with her. I am not saying this next part to be purposefully mean, although I know how it looks... just stating facts. Shes either too stupid to know right from wrong, or, shes too ignorant to care whats right or wrong. In either case, its going to get her into bigger trouble when she gets older. You really should assess & deal with this now while there is still hope. "Not Knowing"?? How is that possible? Was she hypnotized when she KNOWINGLY saved the image from soneone else on her device?? Serious question there. I dont know how she can claim she did NOT know that she saved someone elses work onto her devide. That ones hard to get around. Incorrect about the selling it to me so that she could send me after you. I ASKED her to buy it so that I could go after you after what I had seen, because she was going to just roll over and take it because she didnt want the hassle. She didnt get me after you. I got me after you. Yes, I am that "same jerk" that did that..... and was supported by pretty much every regular there, and guess what??? Security in the end did NOTHING to me. Ummm WHO said what about old ladies crossing the street? I'd LOVE to hear that. I was quite sure I heard the girl your claiming said that praising him and stating how sweet it was. So, do you care to explain in more detail these alleged "awful remarks" because that there is libelous. Not that other things youve said so far arent as well...but this one is big enough that if it were ME you said that about... I'd be petty enough to make it a legal issue for you.

Paragraph 4 is an ENTIRE "feel sorry for me" cavalcade of targeted keywords. Bring up your daughter is in tears (although a bit later you told someone shes fine) Add in the hard struggle life shes had that no one knows of... and a cancer survivng mother to it. then add in how you do this FOR HER to tell her children someday..... how can anyone NOT feel sorry for you after that entire paragaph. Luckily I am experienced enough in dealing with people like you, and jaded enough to know guilt building from motive free statements. You didnt post all of this because it was relevant, you posted this to gain sympathy. Even if each & every part of it is fact based, it doesnt make you right. Having some rough times doesnt make you above the law, or even slightly less guilty. It DOES however, show you as someone who will try to cash in on your issues. Everyone has issues they deal with, some worse than even yours. MOST people dont use it as a crutch to defend their actions.

I applaud you doing things to give your child a better life. Parents are supposed to do that...... HOWEVER.... they are also supposed to do the hard things. Like teach them wrong from right. Like let them know when they have done something wrong. it has consequences. Like punishing them if they do something wrong. Like not making them believe when they do something wrong that its someone elses fault. Your child is almost a teenager. I knew right & wrong when I was 6 or 7. I know this, because I remember vividly stealing candy from a local store a few times, getting caught by my mom and having to return it & pay back the store for other times I did it. When I did it... I KNEW what i was doing was wrong, I was too young to know consequences then... but I learned them there. My mother didnt try to defend me, or justify it, or even let me off with a warning. She taught me if you do something wrong, there are consequences.... and it was a valuable lesson. A lesson you SHOULD be teaching your daughter, instead of victim blaming.

I am sure your kid has good characteristics. Most everyone has SOME. Doesnt mean we're infallable too. Quit treating her like that. You need to be a parent once in awhile. Be that. Stop making everyone else be her parent and you wont find yourself in predicaments like this as often.

I know those of you who follow me are aware I complain A LOT about things. I complain a lot about fans online. I complain a lot about fans at sets, because they DONT know how to act. There is a reason 1 specific cast member on the show in mention once said to me "I dont mind you guys, because I know what you want... its fans I dont like". The person didnt mean that they hated fans... they meant they hated interacting with them because of how unpredictable, invasive and entitled many of them can be. There are FEW fandoms who I have had major temper tantrum type run ins with more than this subsection of the OUAT fandom. On average, there are more unpredictable, inv asive and entitled fans than the average fandom has. This example is sadly not even the worst I've ever encountered... but is now at least the 3rd I have had to address over the years.

So there you have it. The far far more detailed run down & explanation of the issues that came up. Some people just dont know how to apologize when they are in the wrong. More concerning is, some of them are parents.

Lastly, if you are reading this & are scared because you used one of my photos once. Heres the chain of how angry I get.
0- you used it, kept any watermark there was on it, and credited it to me.
0.5- you used it, kept my watermark on it but forgot to credit it to me.
1- Used it. Kept watermark. Knowingly didnt credit.
5- Used it. Deleted watermark, or if there wasnt a watermark, didnt credit it.
8 - used it. Deleted watermark. Knowingly didnt credit it.
9.8 - Used it. No watermark. Claimed its yours and dared me to file a DMCA.
10 - Used. no WM. Had DMCA filed, then re-posted photo out of spite after it was removed. Only 1 person has had the stupidity to try that... and her 1 month suspension for doing it seemed to do the trick funny enough.
Moral of the story.... 99% of the time if you use my photo.... even if you screw up and forget to credit it, I probably wont care much. Be a prick about it... I suddenly care much much more.