Damn ripper

Jacorre · 10-08-2006

Can someone help me with htaccess? Not only is this site listing tutorials of mine without asking me or providing any recognition as to who wrote it, they are also hotlinking my images as well.

For example, here's some of my tutorials:

Create A 3D Cube - GFXTURK.com || PhotoShop Illustrator Flash Tutorial Center

Rotate Individual Characters - GFXTURK.com || PhotoShop Illustrator Flash Tutorial Center

Distort Text - GFXTURK.com || PhotoShop Illustrator Flash Tutorial Center

I tried htacccess and it worked but it also messed up my images on my site so I had to stop it. There could be something I'm missing. I'm also worried that by using the htaccess it will affect the images being displayed on forums where I posted my tutorials, such as here.

I already emailed someone at the site but I'm sure I won't hear back.

*unleash* · 10-08-2006

Just keep mailing and change the text in the tuturials so it wil like automaticly link to you.....or something like that. And i also think you should search something like htacces if that doesn't work. And in the end matbe putting you're tuturials behind a pasword protection...

But i think mailing should be the first priority, and you should keep us up so we know what's happening(we can maybe spread the word you see)

Jacorre · 10-08-2006

I got the htaccess to work from reading a tutorial on it, but I'm not sure why it affected the images on my own site. That's why I had to stop using it. The site stealing my work is a forum and I don't want to sign up and post remarks just to get banned. I did a whois on the site and got an email address which is the one I emailed but doubt I'll get any response.

*MoodsR4Cattle* · 10-08-2006

It appears that both "Administrators" are guilty of taking tutorials without consent and hotlinking all the images. I would venture to say that all the tutorials on that site are being pilfered.

The forum only has 9 members and started 9/23/06. They are definitely getting off on the wrong foot.

Here are a few other places being hit:
ArtWorld // surreal art community, photoshop training & tutorials, photo manipulation
Home Business Articles at WebResourceShop
PhotoshopStar.com
Next Generation Design @ NGXDesigns.com
www.gurnk.com
Duckz :: Creativity&Design
Smart Photoshop
Cool Tutorials
Photoshop Tutorials and Downloads - tutorialwiz.com

... and a few more:
Adobe Nerds - Tutorials // Games // Whatever =]
Photoshop Tutorials and Design Resources - MickM.com
Fiery Darts Your Source for Unique Adobe Photoshop Tutorials (has replaced ripped images)
Arutha.co.uk
Easy to follow photoshop tutorials
Adobe Photoshop Tutorials - TutorialJungle.com
Slowly Sinking
Tutorials Photoshop - The photoshop tutorial database.

Jacorre, maybe you could change your image names?

Krazy3 · 10-09-2006

If your webhost offers CPanel (like mine does) you can block hotlinking from certain IPs. As for the text, I can't help you there.

Try This -- It should work without killing your images

Jacorre · 10-09-2006

Yeah they are taking tutorials from everywhere. Not a good way to try and start a community. The reason I noticed this was happening was from looking at my stats. I was seeing hits but no visits from that site so I looked into the site and found all of my tutorials being listed and the images being hotlinked.

I still have not heard from the person I emailed, but I'll give it one more day. Then I guess I should try the host right? Or report to ripperhunting? What do you think?

*unleash* · 10-09-2006

Keep emailing even when you go to there host or whatever steps you might want to make. But i would if i was you register and get banned at that forum....just so that everyone knows what they're doing. And maybe that admin is just working for themselve, so the entire forum doesn't know.

Well hope it all works out for you.

Krazy3 · 10-09-2006

I agree with unleash. I worse comes to worst, you can always file a lawsuit... and a copyright claim

*unleash* · 10-09-2006

And maybe if you thinking about taking that step i would say talk with al those sites so you got more people with the same issue...

But if i was you i wouldn't let it come that far lawsuites are very expensive, But i would always talk to the people on the other sites about this issue!!

Jacorre · 10-09-2006

Yeah I'll try and get the other sites to notice and maybe we can gang up on them. The email I sent yesterday was sent back so it looks like that email address doesn't exist. Figures.

Jacorre · 10-09-2006

Reported them to Google Adsense. Hopefully they'll stop the ads and make them realize what they are doing is wrong.

Krazy3 · 10-10-2006

Now, There's a good idea

*MoodsR4Cattle* · 10-10-2006

Don't know if will help or not, but here are a few associated links to that website:

http://phoenixtr.awardspace.com/

http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:...s&ct=clnk&cd=1

http://whois.domaintools.com/gfxturk.com

And here's someone requesting removal of their tutorial:
http://www.gfxturk.com/search.php?searchid=89

Sisu · 10-10-2006

I know you probably browsed through a lot of these sites. But I can't really offer any other help then just giving you a few more links to .htacces stuff. Maybe you can get it to work right. Because this is just the first one doing it. And it won't stop until you stop them from being able to hotlink.

Stopping Hotlinking

Code Generator

Jacorre · 10-10-2006

I got it to work finally!

This is the image that is replacing all of the ones they are hotlinking:

http://www.jacorre.com/images/donothotlink.gif