Please do more to encourage remixing and the uploading of .step files

MakerWorld
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Without much research whatsoever, it seems like more and more uploads are under the Standard Digital File License these days, which does not allow remixing of any sort.

While I agree that the various licences available are very important, I also feel that the value of remix culture is being lost or discouraged.

Remixing is a catalyst for innovation and community growth. Encouraging creators to build on, adapt, and improve existing designs will foster collaboration, innovation and creativity, empowering makers of all skill levels to participate, learn, and contribute meaningfully.

I have learned so much by being able to remix other designs, but if I am not allowed to share those remixes back with the community, it is very discouraging.

There are many designs out there that are fairly basic and you might think, “that’s kinda cool, if I made this little tweak, it could really improve it”.

That improvement may never see the light of day, due to unnecessarily restrictive licencing terms, and that is a real shame.

Of course everyone has the right to choose whichever licence they feel is best for them and the particular model they are uploading at the time, but I think that encouraging a more open and sharing community attitude at the point of upload, or a larger push via a public announcement, can only be a benefit to everyone.

Check out Everything is a Remix by Kirby Ferguson on YouTube for an insight into the human nature and value of “remixing”, and why I think it is so important :slightly_smiling_face:

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You can learn lots by looking at how people solve problems.

That doesn’t mean you create a remix of someone else’s work.

You can create your own model using lots of things you learned, just not using the parts of other people’s models.

You can contribute so much by understanding things without creating remixes.

One reason so many models have moved to the Standard Digital license is because there is rampant theft in the 3D space.

Many creators, myself included, have had their work stolen to upload themselves as if they created it or to sell the printed models without any commercial license.

It is very hard stopping this, the remix culture while beneficial as a whole perpetuates the problem by those people claiming they are selling remixes rather than the original.

If so many creators get put off because of the cat and mouse, no creators will bother uploading and all models go away or behind paywalls.

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Too many useless remixes exist that were done simply to farm points. This is why I’m against allowing remixing.

Besides, if the remix is functional why not let the original designer know and let him/her improve the model?

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Thank you for your reply, I appreciate hearing other points of view.

I would ask if the ability to learn in other ways nigates the many positive values of remixing? I do not think so.

Does the Standard Digital license stop theft? Again, I do not think so.

The option to allow adaptations of your work to be shared, while disallowing commercial uses is there (Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike), and I think it would be a benefit if that was encouraged.

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The option to have any points earned from your remix automatically given to the original creator is there for the remixer.

Maybe that option should be given to the original creator instead?

Suggesting improvements to the original creator is a great thing to do, they may be very happy to recieve feedback.

That does not diminish the value that the freedom to remix offers.

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No, but, it makes it easier to prove theft.

One of the requirements for an exclusive model is also have the standard digital license.

BL require that licence type to support their efforts in hunting down thefts.

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How does it make it easier to prove theft compaired to the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike licence?

If a model is worthy of exclusive status, then yes, I would agree that it needs a more strict licence.

Even if it’s junk or anything in between, people are and should be free to choose whatever licence they want.

I still think encouraging people so share more freely is a good thing.

I’m not for a second suggesting it should be manditory or anything like that.

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I love Standard Digital File License…its slap on exploiters / thieves faces.

one of my early uploads didnt had SDFL, a couple of weeks ago one the user increased the length of it about 1mm and posted it as a remix, i made my investigation and apparently most of his uploads are remixes exploiting points or fame.

not to mention SDFL is a big aid for IP and copyrights claims, for when thieves try to commercially use your design without proper permissions.
ever since i’ve been taking down stolen posts on etsy as easy as annihilating mosquitos with a zapper.

in the old times it was okay to have common creative designs, but now everyone became greedy, that’s why SDFL is the best solution for everyone.

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I designed a mouse trap around a mason jar that works pretty well, but the mason jar I used might be only available in the Netherlands. I will be uploading my design as well as a couple that should fit other jars by remixing lid designs for other common jars. I will also have my mouse trap be remixable for others to adapt to their containers.

The remix culture is lost through misuse and the fact that MakerWorld encourages designers to make exclusive designs in order to have a competitive advantage. With remixable licenses you cannot constrain models to one platform

I also think there should be a license type that does allow remixing with meaningful change and attribution but not just copy paste or resizing.

@MakerWorld could also consider an “exclusive” remixable license where remixes may only be uploaded to MakerWorld and points are automatically shared between contributors

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No but it gives you a tool with which to fight it, if you allow remixing you basically give up your rights to stop someone else re-uploading your file elsewhere and have no power to remove it should you dislike how they are using it

SDF leaves you with that control and gives you the tools you need to protect your IP

And people are free to pick whatever license they want to release something under, the existence of the SDF doesn’t prevent you from releasing something as public domain

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That would be great, I’d love to see more tools for collaboration within the community and opportunities for designers to work together. I have some design ideas where the internal mechanisms are prototyped and well understood but I struggle with the external design and aesthetic of the model. Being able to collaborate with designers who compliment your skill set and splitting the points could be a really interesting new avenue for high quality models.

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How does it make it easier to prove theft compaired to the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike licence?

If a model is worthy of exclusive status, then yes, I would agree that it needs a more strict licence.

Even if it’s junk or anything in between, people are and should be free to choose whatever licence they want.

I still think encouraging people so share more freely is a good thing.

I’m not for a second suggesting it should be manditory or anything like that.

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I’m with the other folks here - “remixing” is out of control and used for theft and fraud instead of being true remixes in far too many cases.

I was looking into step files to improve surface smoothness but decided against using them exactly because of the misuse and theft it enables.

The “remix” issue isn’t designers’ faults. This is on the folks happy to take other peoples’ work and profit from stealing it. The “remixers” have created their own resistance by abusing designers.

I know not all remixing is bad or theft but seeing all the times it is sours me on it and on allowing it by the license I post with.

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The theft problem can be effectively addressed by implementing a fair point distribution system. Allocating 90% of a remix’s points to the original creator while granting the remixer 10%. If such a system were in place, I would immediately switch all my models to a less restrictive Creative Commons license instead of SDF.

This won’t completely stop theft, but I wouldn’t mind as long as I receive proper credit.

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I see no problem …

If i find a model i like and feel like it needs to be tweaked for my personal use i do it …. No matter the licence.

If it bothers you that you can post that remix that’s on you….
Make a model from skratch as the original is or supposedly is…… Put some effort in it to deserve those points …

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That is correct, nothing stopping anyone making something work perfectly for their own situation, the problem comes when someone “remixes” something (these days usually means changed filaments or took it from another site to get points on MakerWorld with zero changes).

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This is fine and personal use is allowed on all sorts of things. The limits just come into play when some try to repost others’ work as their own and profit from it or reduce the owners’ ability to profit.

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Because there is nothing to really steal with that license, you’ve giving them free reign to modify it and re-upload it, the only thing you’re restricting is commercial use, i could take one of your models, remix it and reupload it to a contest on maker world and make bank off of your work

SDF prevents that

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Then the argument becomes “ I didn’t steal your work, I stole that person’s work”.

How many layers of minor changes stops the real original effort being the IP of the original model.

I learnt how to code software from magazines and other written publications long before the internet (WWW) or common use of emails. I didn’t need open source software to earn as I had zero access to it.

This didn’t stop me from creating a software business, designing industry standard applications or go on to create top 100 mobile applications.

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I’m not sure what your post is even trying to say exactly, if you give them the license to do it then its not stealing its just giving them the rights to make points off your work, which the SDF prohibits

And the option to do that is only a good thing for creators