Pizzagate.com , a website which claims to be the front page for Pizzagate researchers like you and I, is now attempting to sell information and even graphics which were provided by users from Voat and http://pizzagate.wiki as their own.
While that might not be necessarily be illegal considering the Wiki is public domain, graphics provided by a close friend and a leading contributor to Pizzagate Wiki were expressly given copyright unto their creator, as can be found by the ridiculous Copyright page I actually bothered to fill out myself well over a month ago. See: http://pizzagate.wiki/The_Pizzagate_Wiki:Copyrights
And I quote: "Content provided on The #Pizzagate Wiki is public domain, except for various site-specific logos and graphics, which remain under the copyright of their respective creators."
Now I present to you the artfully, brilliantly crafted Pizzagate Wiki banners and works made for us by beloved contributor, Sliceoflife: http://pizzagate.wiki/images/8/8a/Banner-pizzagate-wiki.png
As well as their series of "Pamphlets" which will soon look very familiar: http://pizzagate.wiki/Activism#Pamphlets
In contrast here are a set of "posters" which are offered on Pizzagate.com as being original (albeit very crudely manipulated): http://pizzagate.com/posters/ https://archive.is/JXz1c
The Wiki's freely available information is frequently quoted and prominently displayed, for example here: https://archive.is/Tfrk8#selection-1363.0-1449.30 and here: https://archive.is/Tfrk8#selection-1363.0-1449.30
There is also no argument that a bulk, if not almost all the Instagram images and the like belong to their respective owners as well, even if we dislike them personally. Also, that research was absolutely and completely taken (often word for word) from early researchers on 4chan, 8ch, Reddit, etc. who are not given even the slightest mention. Their research remains publicly available for free, and pizzagate.com does not in any way expound upon this research in a new way or represent it to the reader in a different medium that hasn't already been done freely (ie. https://citizeninvestigators.org, https://our.wikileaks.org, and of course, http://pizzagate.wiki))
The owners of this site have repeatedly asked for sums from $2,500 to $12,500 in order to "recover the cost" of the website, and it is currently available on Flippa.com for a minimum bid of $12,500: https://flippa.com/7906106-pizzagate-com (For the record, you scummy fucks: https://archive.is/FCGHH))
As for the claim of recovering the cost, I personally (coincidentally enough) tried to purchase pizzagate.com myself just before settling on pizzagate.wiki
I didn't make this decision because pizzagate.com was thousands of dollars, but rather more like a difference between $30 and $50, plus to me Wiki just made more sense for a Wiki. This was via GoDaddy, and in absolutely no way would the price of a domain spike in such a manner unless the creators of pizzagate.com were scammed.
For this reason I claim not only does pizzagate.com commit unethical and possibly civilly-liable behavior for attempting to profit from this material, but in some cases (ie. the posters) may actually infringe upon the copyrights of others in the name of said profit.
Here's to every serious researcher who has conducted their work without need for self-gain and most importantly fortune, and do their work intrepidly and without regard for profits.
update: /v/pizzagate mod Millenial_Falcon: "He also took most of his material directly from my summary without attribution."
From /v/pizzagate mod wecanhelp:
@pizzagateDOTcom, the owner of pizzagate.com
- admittedly based pizzagate.com on @Millennial_Falcon's summary sticky;
- claimed that they don't trust anybody for owning the domain other than Donald J. Trump, then proceeded with the auction hoping to sell to the highest bidder whomever that may be;
- claimed that their sole purpose was to get their initial investment of $2500 back and abandon ship as fast as possible, before they specified $12,500 as the smallest bid increment on the domain auction;
- deleted each and every comment on the auction page.
Pizzagate.com is not considered trusted on this subverse anymore, and will be marked as a security risk whenever it comes up. Please ping me or another mod if you see the link posted somewhere.
view the rest of the comments →
RebelSkum ago
Because my mission is to help the community. Some may be hurt by this and deserve to know. I said I have no issue with use of Wiki public domain content, but when you try to make money from OTHERS' works you run into trouble (hence why I opted not to solicit donations even on our site). If you had or ARE selling the site others would be entitled to credit, compensation, or redaction of their material.
VieBleu ago
which others? do you know specifically? just wondering.
RebelSkum ago
I don't feel it exactly pertinent to list them out, and most are here in this thread already, but at least 5 individuals claim already their works were copied and displayed on this site.
This slides the main point, however, as to why they claim the need for this sum of money for freely available research.
VieBleu ago
so you want them compensated if he makes a sale, right? Or simply not use their particular work, but source other work from the pizzagate universe, of which there is of course quite a bit. Or are they fine with getting credited? Just trying to have you spell it out because it is not really clear what the kicke scum and hatred and piss coments are exactly all about. thx.
RebelSkum ago
I'll agree I have no idea where the hate came from and it's ridiculous.
I just think the secretive nature of the sale and the fact that copyrighted works were included as if they belonged to pizzagate.com is wrong and could even get pizzagate.com in civil court trouble, especially now that they're documented and archived. I simply go where the facts take me.
VieBleu ago
thanks for your reply.
RebelSkum ago
Honestly thank you for being skeptical. I supported the effort until I recognized something legitimately wrong that might derail the whole Pizzagate investigation by making us look irresponsible and reckless.
VieBleu ago
glad to have helped. He seemed pretty cooperative by the end, after the pitchforks were lowered a bit. So I guess the ball is in your court to serve a PM at him explaining exactly what you want removed, credited or compensation for etc.
RebelSkum ago
Mostly I hope it's a lesson learned and now they know the community is watching, considering pizzagate.com extorted them for money more-or-less.
VieBleu ago
hear hear.
EDIT: But after all that, you are going to PM him right? with the demands/requests on specific content? It's IMPORTANT you know, it says so right on the top of the post. lol.
RebelSkum ago
I'll PM them more, but I honestly have since the site went for sale. I have every intention of helping my fellows out, but I can't let folks get taken advantage of either.
On that note it's also not my job to request other people's material be removed. Legally pizzagateDOTcom should have done that themselves before trying to sell, and I can't afford to waste my life covering their mistake.