Adam Taylor
Adam-inistrator
Uploading others' work to the swap pages (don't do it!)
In general, uploading RealFlight content to the Swap Pages that you are not the original creator of is something to be avoided. There are a few separate reasons for this:
In general, uploading RealFlight content to the Swap Pages that you are not the original creator of is something to be avoided. There are a few separate reasons for this:
- There is a good chance that the file may already exist on the swap pages. The original author may have posted it at some point in the past. If you upload the same file with a different name, that results in two copies of the same file on the swap pages, which is not helpful.
- Ratings -- Some users operate on the principle of rating any file not uploaded by its original creator with a '1'. Unfortunately, this can have the side-effect of skewing the rating of a high-quality file lower than what it may arguably deserve based solely on quality. The rating system is in place to help users looking for high-quality content quickly and easily, not to punish uploaders of unoriginal content. The best solution to avoid this problem is to not upload content you did not create.
- And of course, the obvious one -- potential copyright infringement. It is likely that the original creator will not appreciate their creation circulated without credit given where it is due. Always get permission from the original creator first. Even better -- have the original author upload it, so it can be automatically associated with them. You should pretty much always avoid "I don't know who made this or where it came from, but I'm uploading it anyway" types of descriptions.
