Rules Around Using Episode Art Assets and Community Edits

This is becoming mess. I mean I get why some of the props and backgrounds cant be used, but people have been using all these hidden things for a long time. Why tell us now? Why let a lot of people use these hidden assets, not saying anything, and then out of the sudden just tell them sorry, you cant, go change your stories.
There are so many threads with list of the hidden props, why no one shutted it down if we arent allowed to use them?
It honestly doesnt make any sense. I have seen a lot of stories featured on shelves that use hidden props/backgrounds, so they must have been reviewed. And I doubt that the team actually told those people to change it, because their stories were featured like that.
Also, some people actually posted that even after this announcement, Episode is still approving hidden backgrounds that were submitted before this announcement.

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Yeah, actually… The week I was featured, I had an issue with the champagne glasses, so I submitted a ticket. There was a hidden prop in the same scene and they commented in their reply that it looked like I had a prop that didn’t exist in that scene. Lol. They didn’t tell me to remove it though.

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So, do y’all know when you will release those hidden backgrounds.?

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They probably won’t. Most of them are from years ago.

Ok, so I’ve been emailing the support team and received this…

So this indicates we can use Episode assets in our backgrounds, but not share them with others via a drive. Can you confirm @Liz please as this wasn’t made clear in this post.

You did say this…

You used the term “Individuals”, but honestly, I think many of us may have overlooked this word. Was this your way of saying what I have received from the support team above?

I for one want to make sure I am not breaching TOS which I have of course read, but not seen anything that makes this aspect clear.

So, can you confirm that anyone who has a public drive sharing backgrounds with any form of Episode assets, has to remove it. But my understanding is now left as, we can share backgrounds via a public drive, just not ones that have any Episode assets whatsoever.

Thank you x

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Does this mean that all the threads that are sharing episode edited backgrounds are now against the TOS?

Official Background Sharing Thread,
@fcukforcookies’s thread, @CinnamonToast’s thread and more

Also again, my question is why now? The team must have noticed that a lot of background creators are widely distributing the backgrounds. Why they didnt stop it when it started? Why telling us its forbidden now?

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No. But editors should delete backgrounds that use hidden unreleased stuff.

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That I know, but if we cant share them for public, we can only make them for our own personal use, it probably is against TOS, isnt it? Thats what confuses me :thinking:

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I think it just means we can’t upload them on drives, because some people might use them outside the Episode platform. I suppose it is safe to share them here on Forums.

P.S. I think that sharing link to your drive on Forums is fine too. It specifically says Instagram, Facebook and other Episode unrelated things.

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But people can download it from here as well, even people who doesnt have account can, and then they can use it for anything else
Edit- I meant, even if forums are episode related, they are still public for everyone

I would say if these threads are sharing Edited Episode backgrounds of any kind, then yes, we can’t do that. If they don’t use Episode assets but copywrite free images, then they’re fine.

I’ve closed my drive for now until I remove Edited episode backgrounds or those that use Episode assets. When I 're open it, it will only have non Episode edited/asset backgrounds.

We can however edit Episode backgrounds for our own personal use, we just can’t share them publically on a drive. So if you’ve made your own and not shared them, that’s fine.

As for why they are making this clear now that we can’t publically share Episode edited backgrounds of any kind, I can’t answer that.

But, at least now we have absolute clarity and we need to work to this going forward.

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Well they just stated rules. Of course there are people who won’t follow, and Episode can’t possibly have a full control over this.

To be honest, the best idea would be to create a system where users could upload backgrounds to the united system, and other users could use them. Maybe have an option to share or not to share, but united custom background system.

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it is very saddening to hear that many editors (who were not making profit off of their edits whatsoever) are shutting down their google drives. the countless months they’ve spent on organising their drives, setting up backgrounds, coming up with ideas and pursing them are now all down the drain. not only does this affect the editors themselves, but other authors who’ve used their backgrounds too. i don’t quite understand why you’re just now enforcing these rules (although they’ve been the same for, i suppose ever since episode came out, they’ve never really been enforced) but i’d rather not question it. however, it is truly very heartbreaking to see all of these talented editors close their drives after months, maybe even years of making backgrounds just for “fun” and use of other talented authors , not making any profit off of their work whatsoever. i am deeply disappointed by th this event, many of my favourite and talented authors are leaving the community, and i now see why.

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I’m pretty sure they can open their drives, while keeping the link shared only on Forums

they cannot, it violates the terms of service apparently.

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I’m afraid all of this has been blown out of proportions and escelated from a small pebble into a mountain, mainly because Episode can’t give any clear directions on what goes and what doesn’t but have left it to interpretation.
I think orginally they just wanted to stop people from making money out of their product, which is understandable, but it’s kind of blown up in their faces(?) It should still be salvageable though if they just adress the issue directly and give us some propper answers to our questions and start treating all members equally - favored authors or not.

I believe people - myself included - are confused about why, even after all this debacle, there’s still stories favored in the app that are using the hidden assets (backgrounds, props etc) and why the hidden backgrounds uploaded are still being approved of!
For instance, I posted/uploaded this before this announcment was given.
image
It’s one of Episodes hidden backgrounds, provided by Dara.Amarie. (It even has hidden in its title) After all this waving around with the rulebook, I was sure it would get rejected, but I decided to leave it up anyway to see what happened. And yesterday - imagine my amazement - I got a message telling me it had been approved Does this mean I can use it even though it’s a hidden asset by Episode? That’s how I interpret it at least.

when it comes to the hidden props, it actually leaves me feeling a bit cheated that there are any at all. I can understand the backgrounds - at least some of them - as Episode might be paying royalties to use them in the first place, but why denying us those that aren’t like that. And props that clearly belong with animations that we’ve already been given access to.
I think every member/author should have access to these props as they are clearly (most of them) working and being used anyway.

<3

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The thing is some of them aren’t really working properly.
I review stories and saw people using hidden props, and a lot of times the command “remove prop” doesn’t work.

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I’ve never encounted this myself, so I’ll just take your word for it, but most of them are still usable. Episode use most of them themselves in their own stories, I believe.
For those that doesn’t, maybe Episode should skip a few weeks of posting new clothing assets and instead focusing on making those props work(?)
A good prop used rightly can give so much to a story, that clothing never will be able to.

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I deleted all the hidden backgrounds in my story, as was required to avoid possible problems in the future in case get reported. But I will keep all the edited backgrounds in my thread here until notified that I can’t, cause I don’t feel like this was clarified. :woman_shrugging:

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All of this is a bit confusing and upsetting.

It was never clarified, or enforced, for that matter to begin with so it feels like it’s all coming out of left field, if I may be frank. At first it was don’t edit hidden backgrounds or share them - okay, very fair. I get that. Now it’s don’t edit any backgrounds with episode assets AND share them either…okay.

There’s no way you were all in the dark about people sharing backgrounds to begin with (they’ve been doing it for years…), so now instead of punishing the offenders who were making $ off of backgrounds (or whatever else, I can’t keep up), you’re choosing to punish everyone and that’s a bit disappointing.

I know a ton of background editors edited for fun, and/or had experience in editing and saw what Episode had and made it better, cooler, more fun, more imaginative, etc. for a lack of a better word and wanted to share with the community so that everyone’s stories could be colored both imaginatively, and beautifully.

Like @julesscreven said, this is heartbreaking. And I, too, am disappointed and see why tons of people leave this community every day.

Edit: also if I myself got anything wrong, forgive me. Nothing seems very clear anyway so :woman_shrugging:

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