Welcome to Gaia! ::

I was in the Avatar Talks forums not too long ago and got into an interesting discussion about having the equipped item list available or unavailable to other users. The back and forth on the discussion was pretty even, so I thought I'd pose the question to you guys:


For me, I have my equipped items set to unavailable. It's mostly a plagiarism deterant. I spend a lot of time and effort on making many of my outfits - some of them going through extensive edits and multiple phases of building (I'm on version 5 of my Mightiest avi, which has taken almost 2 years to build, and I know she's still not done).

Also, I've had my builds copied before and, while it's really not a big deal (they're just pixels), it hurts to know someone just scoped out my Avi and took it. I understand that imitation is the highest form of flattery; however, I put in the time to learn and cultivate this particular skill, so what is acting as a barrier to this person learning how to do it, too? And that's kind of the key right there: learning how to do it yourself so that you don't have to steal from others.

I'd much rather have someone PM about an item or my layering because then I can explain how I completed the build. This, in turn, can help that person learn some of the process to do it themselves. Learning the process can help lead other users to creating their own unique style that they then can share with the rest of the community.

Lastly, I think it's fine to be inspired by different builds - that's part of the reason I started this guild in the first place - and that users should feel confident in asking one another about items and layering. We should be open to teaching each other the process of building in order to help promote community enhancement and engagement. However, we should still discourage theft, as that does not help facilitate a culture of community.

I would really love to hear what you guys think about this~!

Thank you so much for sharing. I like how you've brought up the duality this question presents us: on the one hand, you want to help people build their knowledge of the items they can use to complete their builds (items that they maybe never would have thought worked with their designs), but on the other hand, you want to be able to protect your hard work. I'm in the same boat with wanting to know what others have equipped, then feeling like a hypocrite when I get mad that their list is unavailable.

I think you're in a particularly interesting situation since you are creating cosplay builds. I know there are some who think layering the cosplay items is lazy or cheating (I'm pretty sure these are some of the peeps that used to make cosplay avis in the old times, when nothing matched and it was really more about intent and effort than 100% accuracy), but I love the fact that cosplay items exist. Also, I don't think layering them is lazy at all, which brings me back around to protecting hard work - since many of the accessory equips that go into the cosplay avis come from different items. That being said, do you ever feel territorial about your cosplays? Especially if you see others specifically using the same out-of-cosplay items to complete their build? I'm super curious, because I am historically awful at cosplay avis and I can understand the temptation to simply steal a build (I would never, never copy someone like that, but I get it).

Well, luckily, i haven't had anybody copy my cosplays (not that i know of anyway). Often times, getting enough set items to make the cosplay is expensive and still not perfect, so you still end up having to look for better items. I don't usually worry about someone stealing my cosplay because by the time they get all the items, i will probably be wearing a new cosplay. when i did my pharaoh (yugioh) avi, i did search favourites to see what others have done and it made me wanna do better than them. i think it's fine to look at others for inspiration, but I wanna outdo the others and make a better one. i cosplay because i like the character and wanna show off. when using sets, i know others have worn the same thing before, but i wear it anyway because it's fun (and because it's the most accurate version). (this is my pharaoh cosplay, btw.)

I also get frustrated when I want to know what item a user has equipped, but when I PM that user, they are super rude about it. I get not wanting to give someone the entire list of items you have equipped (that's why you hid the list), but you shouldn't be super rude or offended if someone asks you a question. I don't understand that.

I am so guilty of that. omg
At least I've never completely stolen someone's avi though.

That is true. Sometimes just using the set item doesn't give you the full build - and it can be incredibly expensive. This is where I think the creativity really comes in. Just like in the old days when there were no true cosplay items, and you had to get very creative and forgiving when designing the avis. I like the attitude you take towards it, though - wanting to outdo other builds to give it your own style and flare (love the bangs you added for Pharaoh's hair!). I kind of feel like this is a hard question because of the shared aesthetics for cosplay - there's only so many ways to make the same character and still be recognizable.

... Can we not? You're gonna make me even more paranoid about this! Not the anxiety part. That's poo. But the screen shots and asking and copying. Ugh, that just seems like so much more work than making your own. I get your point about the avi builder, though. All the items and the poses are available there, so it's super easy to copy via that route. I had hopes. You've crushed them. Thanks for that. le sad face.

I've heard of item finding threads before, but I had no idea people were using that to completely steal someone else's design. That just seems so unfair to the original designer. I totally get wanting or needing to use these threads to find one or two items, though. Sometimes you run into people who are just unwilling to share what items they are using and you need to go through a third party to figure it out. Still, to replicate and steal the design... it hurts my heart. I know it's just little pixels and whatever, but time went into a lot of the designs... It's badong is what it is.