Hmmm. Looks like I need to find some new smilies. Was visiting one of the better art websites on the net known as Deviant Art and tried to login to the user account I have registered there only to be told I’d been banned for violating their policies.
WTF?
I didn’t think I had done anything wrong so I started checking around the site to see what policies I might have violated. Then it hit me. The smilies. I did grab quite a few from Deviant Art (along with various other places that collect smilies), but I had been under the impression we were free to do so. Granted, I didn’t check into it as much as I probably should have, but that’s the only thing I can think of that would result in my being banned. Looking around the forums I found a couple of threads where they talked of other sites having ripped smilies from DA so I’m going to assume that must be the problem.
Seeing as I didn’t intend any harm I’ll do the right thing and remove them from SEB and replace them with a set that I am sure was released with the intention that they be used by others. So if you folks out there know of smilies that the creators won’t have a problem with me using drop me a note or send me a link and I’ll check them out. Once I get the replacements in place I’ll send a formal letter of apology to the folks at DA.
*sniff* I’m going to miss the pirate smiley.
Posted on 08/21/2003 at 06:31 PM 
Posted on 11/04/2004 at 02:25 PM 
I was recently banned as well and was told by a staffer there that someone using my IP addy was abusing the site. Of course, it’s their fault for openly advertising everyone’s IP. Silly me, I didn’t even pay attention to the fact that they did that. I left two months ago and recently received an email from Deviat Art that said I have now had my IP permanently banned for continuing to abuse the site.