Confic Art
by Lack of Lepers
Sep 24 2021 · 12 min read
The rules of the CC license must be upheld at all costs.
Outrage and drama have rocked the SCP Community in the last days. It is again to do with the interpretation and enforcement of a perpetually troublesome onus — their Creative Commons license, which demands an author be attributed in name if material from the site is reproduced in any way, anywhere on the internet.
Enter Joel Harvengrave, a 21-year old resident of Bibury, England. Years ago, Joel decided to express a love of the SCP Wiki by getting a tattoo of a favorite fictional group of interest, Are We Cool Yet? This tattoo is along the length of Joel’s genitalia.
The tattoo is the name of the GoI in stylized font and was seen during routine browsing of [WEBSITE EXPUNGED BY THREAT OF PERMABAN] by SCP Staff. The picture, tagged on [WEBSITE EXPUNGED] with “SCP Foundation” and “No, SCP Staff Don’t Have A Problem With This, They Are The Ones Doing It”, also showed up in the feed of several fans’ social media accounts as it was re-shared; many who after further investigation appear to be underage and who — apparently, shockingly, and simply— lied about being 18 or older; a requirement to both view such posts on these social media platforms and to be active on the SCP Wiki. The picture was brought to the attention of the greater SCP Wiki via a prominent post criticizing the tattoo on the SCP Wiki forum. IRC staff chat logs on the topic have reliably been leaked:
<MalyceGraves> Oh crap, another licensing issue here maybe. No attribution. <Lily> Send it to the raccoon. <MalyceGraves> .tell ProcyonLotor got another one for ya. Be sure to archive this, I’m not going to go find it for you again after you have to suddenly delete it because your s.o. is unexpectedly asking to use your phone <Jarvis> Ok, this is odd! I’ll tell him that! <Jarvis> Sent. <DrMagnus> I’m not okay with this. A stop order has been placed, do not reply unless you are staff. <Lily> We are all staff. <Toumey> Lily: No no, that’s DrMagnus’s way of saying hello. <Toumey> And goodbye. <ChaoSera> Some dude has a AWCY? tattoo on his [REDACTED]?? <Dexanote> Banned <Toumey> So?? I have the SCP Wiki logo in a similar place and posted it several such sites time and time again, why is this guy getting all of the attention? <Dexanote> ^ Not banned <ARD> Can I see it? <Lily> Toumey: yeah but this one doesn’t have attribution on it <Toumey> Ooooh <Toumey> Not cool >:( <DrMagnus> Send him a Stop Order. Tell him he can only tattoo that if he is staff. <PorncyonLovor> Who the [REDACTED] summons me? <PorncyonLovor> I mean, who summons me, lovely peers? <MalyceGraves> procy check your tells <PorncyonLovor> This better be good. <DrMaguns> Oh it is. It is. <Ihp> Hey guys, check out my new article! [spam removed] I just posted it and it already has +10! In 10 minutes! One per minute! That’s a record, right? [88 lines of spam removed] <MalyceGraves> Not now, Ihp. The adults are talking. <ARD> Ihp, that’s not a record, I did that like 3 years ago. Are all 10+ of those your upvote socks? We don’t count those in records; they’re just there to pad the entry and prod the herd. <Ihp> ARD: Oh damn. Well can you delete yours please? <ARD> Ihp: What? No. Who asks someone else to delete their work just for something so flimsy? <Ihp> ARD: I said ”please” <ARD> Ihp: Sorry, no <Ihp> ARD: That hurts my feelings. =’( <Lily> ARD: Who could forget? It’s all you talked about for like a month in your sauwastika channel. <PorncyonLovor> Wow. This is amazing. Just when you think you’ve seen it all <Lily> What about the lack of attribution? It goes against our CC policy, doesn’t it? <DrEverettMann> WHAT THE [REDACTED] IS THIS [REDACTED] <PorncyonLovor> Everyone, I brought pooryoric in here. He is on DrEverettMann’s nick because he lost his password. <DrEverettMann> get my words off your [REDACTED]!!! <MalyceGraves> Can we demand that? <DrBleep> We can do whatever we damn well please. Just change the site rules. <Kufat> DrBleep: That reminds me, should we include in the New User guide or the chat guide the fact that we can rip anyone’s IP address and emails if they so much as show up in the IRC chat? Seems, I dunno... minimally honest. <DrBleep> Hell no. Get rid of that sense of standards. <Kufat> I’m uncomfortable with this. People shouldn’t have their privacy infringed upon. I resign effective immediately. <MaylaceGraves> I also will resign due to privacy concerns. <PorncyonLovor> Kufat: MaylaceGraves: I love your ethical sensitivity and insight here. You’re both promoted. <Kufat> Ok I’ll take over the IRC now. <DrEverettMann> can I make a dedicated, public, and staff-enabled statement about this on the wiki? <DrBleep> You can do whatever you damn well please. <MalyceGraves> Procy, do we need to ask the individual to add attribution to this? Or should we just demand that he take it down? <Lily> I think we should give him a chance to add attribution, and then threaten legal action if he doesn’t follow through with it. <ARD> Let’s come down hard on that stiff, unmoving f███er <MaylaceGraves> We can come at this from an emotional argument too, right? tug at the userbase’s bitching heartstrings? That yoric doesn’t want his logo there and that should be enough? <Dexanote> MaylaceGraves: yes, i don’t see any hypocrisy in that <Ihp> ARD: will you please please delete your article for me? I am feeling oppressed here <Lily> ARD: do it, he said he’s feeling oppressed and that’s the end of it <DrEverettMann> he didn’t ask my permission. Also he should take it off because I dont like the male genitalia really. that’s plenty of reason. <ARD> ... yoric, but this is all CC, that’s not how this works. Is it even "yours"?ARD has been kicked from the chat by Toumey (no harassment allowed)<Toumey> go hang out with your Yurt <Ihp> Thanks guys. Does that mean you’ll delete it? I’m offended by it. <DrEverettMann> ARD: for pooryoric, it is. <DrEverettMann> oh he’s gone Ihp: if you ask again we will collectively not like you. <Ihp> I love you guys. congratulations ARD. [1 line of spam removed]Ihp (aint.no.pawty.like.@.staff.simp.pawty) has quit<DrEverettMann> Just made a thread on the wiki about it. That dude is toast now. I have $160k to throw at the bastard. <Toumey> Woah, yoric when did you get so much money? <DrEverettMann> no this is Mann speaking <Toumey> Oh its hard to tell who is saying what here <MaylaceGraves> Procy, are you still there? <ProcyonLovor> WHAT THE [REDACTED] DO YOU WANT, YOU PEON?!? <PorncyonLovor> I mean. Yeah, yeah, I'm here. Sorry was busy. sorry I have been mean and rude, talking down to people like the ants they are too. i can change my ways. PorncyonLovor --> ProcyonLotor <ProcyonLotor> see? I’ve changed now I’m a different person. <ProcyonLotor> Ok. I think if the individual doesn't respond to the attribution request, then we need to get it removed somehow. If he won't get the attribution added, or the laser removal, then we can use our legal fund against him. The lawyer has spoken. <spikebrennan> actually,Spikebrennan has been kicked from the chat by ProcyonLotor (kneel before me, knave!!)<DrMagnus> Procy: Given that we have leftover funds from after Project Foundation costs… <Lily> Oh wait, do we know this person's pronouns? yoric, you already posted it to the site with "he"? <DrEverettMann> yeah <DrMagnus> And we posted it to all our official social media too? <AdminBright> yeah <Lily> will we change it please if we find out it's incorrect? <DrEverettMann> no. this isn't about being accurate. it's about grandstanding a statement I shouldn't have been allowed to make in an official capacity in the first place <ChaoSera> c'mon we have to correct the post; it is factually incorrect that the person is a guy <DrEverettMan> No way, that will make us look bad in front of everyone. I refuse. <DrMagnus> we're going to misgender someone because it quietly avoids making us look bad? are there no limits to how much we will bend our morals and principles to look good?!? AND YOU MEAN TO TELL ME YOU'LL KEEP THIS ERROR BUT YOU GUYS JUST HAD TO CORRECT THE CRAP ABOUT THE CERASTES PLAGIARISM AND DISC THREAD?!? WHERE IS YOUR LOYALTY?!?! I'M F████ING DR.MAGNUS! I WROTE AND STARRED IN SCP-3621 FOR JESUS' SAKE!!! F██k that, I'm outta here before the s██t hits the fan and I'm holding the bags AGAIN!!DrMagnus (out.due.to.stressful.IRL.circumstances.@nd.that.is.definitely.all) quit.<Lily> ^ Oh wow these circumstances of departure are so controversial. I personally believe DrMagnus left of their own accord and not to avoid the s██t hitting the fan. <Dexanote> Wait, Lily... wait everyone, can we drop the satire chat log for a second? Lily, I literally typed out in an O5 post that DrMagnus left to dodge punishment. <Lily> Uhh... you did?? <Dexanote> yeah. in the cerastes BP-oil-style "sorry" apology thread <Lily> Oh. I, uh. I didn't read that. <Dexanote> Yeah, no one did, that was the hope and point. <Lily> Can I publicly maintain that he didn't leave to escape punishment anyway? Maybe to shut some observant users up? <Dexanote> knock yourself out, these users are too dumb to notice anyway <Lily> ok, back to it. <Toumey> someone commented on your thread, yoric <DrEverettMann> Toumey: what did they say? that I'm right? <Toumey> no they said the dude in the picture was hot. <DrEverettMann> hotter than me? <Toumey> yeah I think so <Toumey> I mean, I don't think so, your worshipfulness, but I think they think so. they could have mentioned you were hotter and didn't, so that makes them guilty and probably a racist nazi too. <DrEverettMann> this is Mann speaking. delete that comment from the page, now <SoullessSingularity> I deleted it sire, should we disable all comments too? just in case anyone wants to disagree? <DrBleep> per protocol, yes <DrBleep> f██k the discussion <DrBleep> let them have r/scp <DrEverettMann> this is yoric. i g2g see ya'll in like 5 years or something when I can claim to be a relevant artist again <DrEverettMann> Bright, this is Mann. get out oh here you know you’re not supposed to let on you’re in here still. right M_E? <ModernErasmus> yeah, that was part of the deal <AdminBright> oops AdminBright —> flagsam <flagsam:> K
This couldn’t have come at a worse time for Joel, as any lack of wider author attribution when it would be nice is something that the latter generations of SCP authors have been particularly demanding and sensitive about lately. To quote a respondent and SCP-member to our inquiry on this:
It’s just like… all the prior and pioneering authors who never demanded for their names to be grafted on all the internet attention their works got, like SCP-087, 096, 106, or 682, probably because they weren’t ego-roided and resisted that for the sake of the collective project and to keep the semblance of the project’s pseudo-immersive ideals alive… those people were dead wrong! It’s all about personal glory and using the Wiki as a step-stool for efame. Only a moron thinks the attention to the content itself is its own reward.
Look, it’s not like we’ve ever said that once an author’s works are submitted to the Wiki they aren't theirs anymore or anything, or that we are instead part of a larger, undifferentiated CC ownership. Well I guess we have but… OK let me try to come at that different. OK, when any submission gets wider attention, or could, then it’s all about the individual author. When that same primacy and standard for attribution would mean a less favorable outcome for the Wiki as a whole, like with Harmony or something… THEN it’s all about the faceless collective that minimizes the individual author. Wait? What? No no let me explain that differently. … — [IDENTITY REDACTED UPON REQUEST AFTER THE STATEMENT WAS REFLECTED UPON]
Given the public outcry for the licensing infraction, a GoFundMe has been started in legal prosecution against Joel, who identifies as a woman, and is in the process of transitioning to female. On the fundraiser website, Joel’s actions are described as “illegal non-attribution trafficking”. The goals of the fundraiser call for the addition of the following statement to the tattoo in order to comply with the license:
Are We Cool Yet? is based on the Group of Interest (GoI) of the same name by “pooryoric”, aka “tunedtoadeadchannel” (don’t read into that name any), and the hub for this that was created by others years after yoric’s contributions can be seen here: https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/are-we-cool-yet-hub. This tattoo is subject to and compliant with the SCP Wiki CC BY-SA 3.0 license.
The statement must be in center alignment. Barring this, SCP representatives call for the removal of the offending material entirely in order to maintain the CC license’s authoritative supremacy.
Confic Magazine News reached out to Joel for comment:
Joel: I’m real bothered by all the negative attention, my Twitter and [WEBSITE EXPUNGED] pages have been flooded with threats. The most disturbing part is that they look like an unintentional army advancing towards me becasue they’re all waving the pride flag… my flag, the same flag I have on my wall. Surreal. I used to think SCP was a place of tolerance & inclusion but my God there’s so much hate there. More than the side they rail against. It’s like their bile ducts empty right into their own stomachs. I guess there isn’t any hypocrisy in reacting with every perceived slight of potential intolerance with total and utter intolerance.
I honestly didn’t think I was doing anything wrong, it’s not like this would have been a prominent something that a whole lot of people would see if the staff and community didn’t react to it so reflexively, so violently, and draw so much more attention to it. I mean my God, I didn’t do this wanting to be a villain. I just wanted to say in a creative and unique way that I thought they were cool. I was also told that people use their clout on the Wiki to try and get laid, and seeing as how Mann talked about adding that to the site rules but never did, I thought I’d follow in their footsteps and try that out.And after reviewing the legal facts though, I’m actually not sure this counts as a misuse. The name of the GoI isn’t CC’d, it’s technically 4 words anyone can come up with independently. SCP is acting like it’s copyrighted or trademarked. If the logo was, say like the SCP logo in Russia, that’d be different. But font that is used in the AWCY? “logo” isn’t SCP’s. It’s the IP of someone else; that or public domain because I don’t see an attribution on their end for it, so. I tried to tell people that but they don’t seem to care. Others tried to tell them too, but. Odd, given that they are so strict on the details of the license itself and don’t care to adhere to the facts when trying to apply it!
Why the heck do they want their name on my [REDACTED] anyway?! The tattoo was really painful to get, and was something I did when I was really into the community a few years ago. I'd rather not get that attribution added. It's such a lengthy statement. I think they made it long to punish me more. For example, they added the last sentence "to remind themselves that they've already dealt with me" and so that future bureaucrats don't "waste Project Foundation funds on me again", whatever that means. I just don't want to. Where am I going to get the money for it? I tried to start my own GoFundMe, but SCP people reported me as a racist bigot and the site took it down for violating its terms of service. I also don't want a laser removal; that's really expensive too. And painful.Wait, they're going to what if I don't comply? Oh. That's actually good news, I was hoping to get this surgery someday anyway.
As of writing, the “SCP GoFundMe v.II: The Taboo Tattoo” has raised $249,104 more than its goal for the legal and hospital cost needed for the enforcement. An Admin representative has told Confic Magazine:
“We will be saving the excess funds for future legal battles of this nature; we take the CC license very, very seriously. Like, anally. That’s not a pun in this context. Take how much you think the CC license should reasonably be applied, and triple it. This stuff is ours, and by God everyone is going to know it.”
When asked if there is a perceived discrepancy between the spirit of the CC license as something to empower and enable an expanding network of creative collaboration and SCP’s aggressive and pedantic enforcement of its letter via a dedicated war chest — particularly upon those smaller people or groups who are not as prominent, not doing anything illegal, or selling any merchandise to speak of — the SCP Admin thought for a moment and just said to come chat about it in their IRC.
© Lack of Lepers, © Confic Magazine