Copyrighted photo thief - Dr. Tomato

[Tania]

Originally Posted by dustdevil

Dr. T would have to put thousands of hours into his database to try and come close to the quality of Tania's. By that time, Tania will have a couple thousand more varieties listed. His db will never be the bees knees that Tania's is. I anticipate he will attempt another "shortcut" since he likes pushing the easy button at other's expense.

Folks, do not forget I was not alone putting it together: http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/T...mmunity_Portal

Scroll down to see the Main Contributors.

Tania

[Suze]

Just a word of advice – if folks keep making edits to the wiki in an attempt to teach him a lesson, I could see where it might serve to potentially weaken any case made with the host that Dr. Tomato is the only one out of line in his actions. This is my opinion.

I think it is best to report (that is, if one personally feels the need to do so) using the links Mischka provided earlier.

Also, as Tatiana pointed out, edits made to wikis are logged for all to see by IP address.

[Tania]

I fully agree with Suze.

another wiki 'tip': you can rollback or undo your changes (only 1-2 clicks is required). Unfortunately this will not remove the records from the History - but it will still show a good intent.

This feature is available from the 'History' tab, or from the 'Recent Changes' page (which would be even faster, as you'll see all the pages).

Tania

[ContainerTed]

Tania, I just downloaded and reviewed your new catalog. What the others here have said so far, and any verbology I can conjur up will be and are totally inadequate. Your catalog is absolutely beautiful - a real work of art. What a pleasure it is!!

You have raised the mark on how to do a catalog and others will have to burn a lot of midnight oil to bring themselves up to the new standard.

Thanks for your tireless effort to give us an informative work of art on the obsession we share.

Ted

[frogwash]

I especially like the fact that he himself has the following bolded on his own warning message on his Edit Page on Wiki:

Originally Posted by Some Jerk's Wiki Fake Tomato Database Page

Please note that all contributions to XXX Tomato Index may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see <link removed again> for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!

Perhaps he oughta take a look at himself unless he's doing so because he enjoys being a hypocrite.

p.s. please accept my sincere apology for posting the link earlier, i thought others may wanna edit his page also. i won't do it again.

p.p.s. there's a good chance that the ip address of the last editor there goes to my computer as i couldn't sleep last night and was feeling rather ornery.

[SEAMSFASTER]

Originally Posted by dustdevil

Dr. T would have to put thousands of hours into his database to try and come close to the quality of Tania's. By that time, Tania will have a couple thousand more varieties listed. His db will never be the bees knees that Tania's is. I anticipate he will attempt another "shortcut" since he likes pushing the easy button at other's expense.

Well guess what, he IS at it again! At the risk of being a hypocrite myself (my website is VERY far from finished), he has copied not only my domain name (minus 1 letter), but several of my recent pictures (of tomatoes I grew and photographed myself - you all know how time consuming the process is...) along with many other pics I recognize from websites belonging to other members here.

At least he's giving a few photo credits this time around. I'm a bit ticked off at the moment. PM me if you want the URL - probably not a good idea to post it here.

Maybe I shouldn't feel threatened?

And once again I'll echo the very positive sentiments about Tatiana's TOMATObase. It's a wonderful resource to which I've pointed dozens of people for information and seed sales. I regret that I've not yet taken the time to contibute, as I agreed to almost two years ago. Sorry Tania - keep up the fantastic work!

[remy]

Originally Posted by SEAMSFASTER

Well guess what, he IS at it again! At the risk of being a hypocrite myself (my website is VERY far from finished), he has copied not only my domain name (minus 1 letter), but several of my recent pictures (of tomatoes I grew and photographed myself - you all know how time consuming the process is...) along with many other pics I recognize from websites belonging to other members here.

At least he's giving a few photo credits this time around. I'm a bit ticked off at the moment. PM me if you want the URL - probably not a good idea to post it here.

Maybe I shouldn't feel threatened?

And once again I'll echo the very positive sentiments about Tatiana's TOMATObase. It's a wonderful resource to which I've pointed dozens of people for information and seed sales. I regret that I've not yet taken the time to contibute, as I agreed to almost two years ago. Sorry Tania - keep up the fantastic work!

Geeze, like a bad fungus he's back. You think he would learned the first time around.
Remy

[Solanum315]

Originally Posted by DrTomater

Let me introduce myself to you.My name is Tom,I'm the owner of Dr Tomato.com.
Yes it's true I'm not the best speller.I'm also not a computer whiz but I do know my tomatoes. I grew up on a farm and have been growing tomatoes for 40 + years,almost all my life.I'm a little order than that but don't tell anyone.As for asking people to send me pictures,I thought people might like to show off their tomatoes.If they are as proud of theirs as I am I was sure they would.I am just a small farmer trying to make it in today's world of corporate farms because I can't see any other way I'd rather live than to farm.It is my dream.I will now and always live the way I want,GOD willing.And as for anyone reading this,if you would like to show off your tomatoes on my website,please email them to me with your name,type of tomato and any other info. you'd like me to include.

This paragraph alone reads like classic spam. I half expect a link to generic viagra at the end of the message. I don't think any lawyer is going to get involved in this unless they are your friends or really bored. Damages are typically measured in money made by the defendant and money lost by the plaintiff. Punitive damages are possible but unlikely that would be much either. Certainly not worth the possibility of a 1/3 contingency fee IMO.

[ContainerTed]

I just keep wondering why he hasn't put a crowbar in his wallet and bought a digital camera. I shop at pawn stores from time to time and have seen adequate cameras for as little as 30 bucks. This character seems bound and determined to "lean into a left hook" and pursue theft of the property of others.

There's gotta be something wrong in his gearbox. DrTomater needs a lot of therapy. Yeah, a lot of therapy. And then, maybe like Donkey in Shrek, he just needs a hug.

[MikeInOhio]

Interesting thread. I have had problems for several years with people taking photos from my ebay site and using them for their own auctions. I have found that most people are quite pleasant when you ask them to stop. It seems that many people simply don't understand the fact that photos are automatically copyrighted by the owner. This would explain the use of watermarks.

Dr. Tomato, however, does not seem to fit into this category. I took a look at his photobucket site and noticed that he had pilfered one of mine too. The only redress I have is to sue him for the profits he made while using the photograph. Obviously this is not worth the effort.

I wanted to mention that many photos are now a part of the public domain due to the fact that the owner's rights were never enforced.

-Mike

[clkeiper]

Since I am new to Tomatoville, compared to most other people here, I went to see this dr tomato site, to see what you are all posting about, but I get a screen that says "FORBIDDEN", huh? Does he block all of us tomatoville members from his site? or am I looking at something different than you?

[Zana]

Originally Posted by clkeiper

Since I am new to Tomatoville, compared to most other people here, I went to see this dr tomato site, to see what you are all posting about, but I get a screen that says "FORBIDDEN", huh? Does he block all of us tomatoville members from his site? or am I looking at something different than you?

Carolyn,
I got the same "forbidden". Hmmmmmm...... I didn't get that in the past. Curiouser and curiouser....what's he up to now?

Zana

[Cole_Robbie]

It's up to three times damages that you can sue for, but I agree that no lawyer is going to do it.

Most intellectual property law revolves around intimidation, at least in the way it influences people. One of the fun things you can always do for yourself is learn how to write what is called a "complaint." Usually it will be with your local court, but in this case IP law is all federal, so your complaint would be filed in your nearest Federal Court. Pretend that you are in a class that has assigned you to write an official-looking complaint, just as it would be filed in court. Copy the format from what you find on the Internet, using examples from your own fed judicial district or state.

When you're done, consider mailing a copy of that complaint to whoever has wronged you. Include a letter that says, 'enclosed is a copy of the complaint I plan to file with the court on ___ future date. Please, let's settle this dispute before filing of these documents becomes necessary.'

I know that's intimidation, but as long as your complaint is true, it's legal to threaten a lawsuit, and lawyers do it all the time. By settling and not going to court, the other side can avoid court costs, attorney's fees, and often the embarrassment of having the police or process server visit your home or office to serve you with the papers.

[clkeiper]

Since he lives(maybe) nearly next door to my sister ( I am sure within 1 mile) maybe I should stop in and give him a big "HELLO" from Tomatoville next time I am her direction, which unfortunately is not very often. She is here 10x more than I am there. At least I am assuming he lives there as this is a very rural area...not industrial at all. Since the only thing I can find is that he is from Shreve, Ohio ...

[clkeiper]

Originally Posted by ContainerTed

I just keep wondering why he hasn't put a crowbar in his wallet and bought a digital camera. I shop at pawn stores from time to time and have seen adequate cameras for as little as 30 bucks. This character seems bound and determined to "lean into a left hook" and pursue theft of the property of others.

There's gotta be something wrong in his gearbox. DrTomater needs a lot of therapy. Yeah, a lot of therapy. And then, maybe like Donkey in Shrek, he just needs a hug.

Trust me, In or around Shreve are no quality thrift stores, MAYBE a Goodwill and you will not find a digital camera there. Now if he goes to Wooster...maybe. Shreve is incredibly small. Amish buggy kind of place.... But in reality buying a new one can be very inexpensive. Just about as cheap if not more so than looking for one used.