Every so often I receive notes and e-mails from people requesting to use my emoticons on their websites and/or forums.  I am always flattered and happy that people think highly enough of my emoticons to want to use them on their own sites, and I certainly appreciate it when people do the right thing and take the time to ask permission.  Despite this though, I always return with the same answer:  no.


That sounds pretty harsh, doesn't it?  Well, let me explain...


I put a lot of work into my emoticons.  I don't want to sound high and mighty here, but I probably put a lot more time and effort into my emotes than most people do who have their emoticons on free-for-use emoticon websites.  I'll go so far as to spend hours (off and on) on just one emoticon if I have to.  Pathetic?  Some might say it is.  But hey, this is the artwork that I do.  Some people specialize in photography, some people in wallpapers, some in pixel art.  Me...I do emoticons.


Didn't mean to drift from the main idea here.  Allow me to get back to it...


As I said, I put a lot of work into my emoticons.  When I began creating emotes, I made them with the thought in mind that maybe one day, some would make it to the deviantART emoticon legend.  Low and behold, they did.  Now...I know what the basic idea behind emoticons are.  They are fun little "smileys" that should be used by everyone.  I know that.  But I like to think of my emoticons as a little more than "smileys."  As I said before, they are my form of online art.  It's my medium.


Now for the point...


It makes me glad that the deviantART community enjoys the emoticons that I make for this website.  This is a community that I've been with for a long time and that I know very well.  I know the staff and I have made many online friends here.  Because of this, I have no problems giving to the community (in my case, in the form of emoticons).  When someone from another website asks me if they can use my emoticons, I don't say no because I want to be mean.  I say no because of this...


...I've seen my emoticons ripped on so many websites it makes my head spin.  Many times when I've spoken with the webmasters of these sites, the ripping is unintentional and they usually obtain my emotes from free-for-use emoticon websites that certainly do not have my permission to have them.  Those are the sites that are the rippers.  When more and more sites start using my emoticons...my artwork...then more and more people who see them probably just assume that they can take them.  At deviantART, policies about ripping are everywhere.  They're even on the emoticon legend itself!  Here, I know my artwork has protection and I know that I have a lot of people who can back me up if I ever need to claim that the work is indeed mine.


A while ago I had the doors open for my emoticons.  There is a small handful of websites out there that actually has permission to use my emoticons, and in return, they credit me with a link back to my userpage on deviantART.  Since my emoticons started to become ripped long ago, I have not taken back my emotes from these websites/webmasters who have permission.  Regardless, since then I've seen so much ripping of my emoticons from other websites that I have shut the doors back up...perhaps for good.  I don't care if people credit me anymore...if they're on a site that does not have my permission and I see it, expect an e-mail.


So that's that.  I hope that I've made my opinion on the matter of emoticon useage clear without sounding like a total jerk at the same time.  To any webmasters who I've linked this journal entry to, I do hope you understand and hold no ill feelings towards me because of this.