Recently, I posted an open letter to the YouTuber community from the perspective of the Minecraft content creators. The blog post, although personal, was meant to encompass the heart of all content creators. To my surprise, there was much support from inside the community, as one creator after another identified with the neglect. It’s no secret, map makers, mod makers, resource pack artists, etc love seeing their work admired, but it’s also no secret that there is quite a chasm of relationship between YouTubers and the Minecraft Community.



So let me amplify my thoughts, but also give a better representation of the community. This problem isn’t one map maker crying out for attention. Because if all this gains is my credit displayed while the others get forgotten, I have failed. I dare you to ask a fellow content creator, and I’d wager this hits extremely close to home.





What are we asking for?

Simply put, when a YouTuber uses our work, we request the following.

The project name in the video description The creator(s) name in the video description The project link in the video description to the source the creator has chosen If really generous, a shout-out in the video



Why is this important?

- It gives the viewers the visual confirmation who is behind the project

- It leads the viewers to a central discussion place for the project

- It’s part of marketing of a brand a content creator has posted

- It can be tied to ad revenue for a content creator’s website

- It makes us feel important to see a YouTuber take the time to post our little unknown name to the viewers

- It is how we can build a recognizable name for ourselves

- It’s a simple gesture that shows the YouTuber is supporting the creator of the content

- It creates search results to videos of people who feature content by the creator





Simple enough? I would think so. We made something cool. If they like it enough to show their audience, why not show us some love? But if it’s so simple, why is the majority of YouTube channels so neglectful? Is it ignorance? Is it that they don’t understand? Is it that they just don’t care? Whatever the reason, I’d like to take some time to go over the common misconceptions presented from the opposing side on why description credits are not neccessary.





MISCONCEPTION #1

When large channels feature community content, the are promoting the creator. Isn’t that enough?



While there is truth to the fact that large channels will create recognition around a particular project, without a mention of the creator, it actually doesn’t promote the individual. This is why many content creators have made highly successful projects, but are not well-known.



Think of it this way: You hire a contractor to renovate your living room. They make an absolutely beautiful room and everyone you invite over is impressed by the workmanship. But no one knows the contractor’s name and you aren’t willing to share the secret. This contractor has made something successful but because their name is unknown, there is no promotion towards them personally, only a nice living space you and your friends get to enjoy. But hey, at least that contractor got paid… Hmmm.





MISCONCEPTION #2

All a content creator has to do is ask, and the YouTuber will gladly add the credit.



Herein lies a massive untruth. Just about every Minecraft content I’ve personally seen explicitly states some form of attribution placement. In fact, for Diversity 2, it is stated from at least 3 different places for one download depending on where the person gets the file. See below:







The problem isn’t that the community isn’t asking. It’s that the YouTubers are ignoring us. I have had a handful of conversations with larger YouTubers. Some comply and show respect and some get defensive and call us “passive-aggressive”. We are real people. We have names and we want to have professional friendships with YouTubers. We’re not looking to be stars of their videos, we just want them to know we are here to help them. But when large channels see creators as a nameless content production machine, we lose our individualism.





MISCONCEPTION #3

Placing credits in the description is a waste of space. Nobody reads the description anyway.



Besides the simple fact that if nobody reads the description, then there’s no harm in adding a credit there, this statement is completely false. It’s interesting how music credits are easily viewed in every description. Somehow, music artists feel the description is important enough to make it a requirement to use their music, but many Minecraft YouTubers seem to have a double-standard when it comes to their very own community. If descriptions were useless, why are they full of subscription links and merchandise store links? Why is the description always the place a YouTuber will link their recording friend’s channel and list them by name? YouTubers want to list off their friend’s channel because they want to see them succeed. Why not the content creator? The truth is, people do read the description, and when no credit is written, it simply shows the channel is not interested in supporting content creator. They would just rather use their work to create a series and ultimately achieve views.





MISCONCEPTION #4

Projects offered for download are public domain and YouTubers are not legally bound to do anything.



If legality is in question, there’s no real debate. It all boils down to Copyright and who owns the Copyright? In a nutshell, for something to have Copyright, it has to be an original project. So, is the Minecraft project an original creation? If so, the creator legally owns the project. Debating whether or not Mojang/Microsoft own the content is irrelevant. That would be like arguing Adobe owns every image created using Photoshop or Gibson owns every song written on the guitar they manufactured.



As for “public domain”, for a quick reference, wikipedia states “Works in the public domain are those whose intellectual property rights have expired, have been forfeited, or are inapplicable." This basically means, for something to become public domain, the creator can no longer be a part of the content. The length for something to become public domain varies from county to country, but the constant beginning of Public Domain is sometime after the death of the creator. In other words, if the creator is still alive, they own the Copyright to the project unless they sell it. In fact, for my projects I have the option to select "Public Domain” for the file, but instead I list it as “All Rights Reserved”.





Content creators own their projects and proper attribution is required.





MISCONCEPTION #5

The EULA states anyone has the right to take something someone makes and do what they want with it.



Now here is the misunderstanding. It’s true when content creators purchased Minecraft, they are legally held to the EULA, which does state that Mojang owns basically anything created in their game. But let’s take a closer look at the EULA as of September 2014:



If you make any content available on or through our Game, you must give us permission to use, copy, modify and adapt that content. This permission must be irrevocable, and you must also let us permit other people to use, copy, modify and adapt your content. If you don‘t want to give us this permission, do not make content available on or through our Game. Please think carefully before you make any content available, because it will be made public and might even be used by other people in a way you don‘t like.



Notice it specifically states Mojang is the sole party who may use, copy, modify or adapt the content. And Mojang is the only party that is allowed to give out permissions to others to use said content.



There is nothing in the EULA that allows another person to freely use content against a creator’s wishes, with the exception of explicit permission by Mojang.



So this leaves us with two options. Either, YouTubers simply list the credits of the content creators as required and make everyone happy. Or, they must acquire the explicit permission from Mojang overriding the creator’s wishes. In which case, I would require written proof that specifically includes the YouTuber’s name with my project.





MISCONCEPTION #6

The YouTuber has placed a link to the project in the description. That should be enough.



In some cases, this might be enough. And I’m quite sure if this was a common practice, the community wouldn’t likely be so disheartened. We probably wouldn’t even be having this conversation. But I’d simply ask - why not place the creator’s name(s)? A project link definitely is the best step in the right direction, but why stop there? Perhaps, if the list of creators is massive, the description could get cluttered. Possible, but this is not typically the case. Again, we are not nameless. I dream of a YouTube, where the YouTubers freely chat to the content creator in video. “Why would you do this Q???” or “Sphax, I love your textures!”. As long as we remain “mapmaker” or “the guy who created this map”, we have no identity and therefore are unimportant.





Admit it. It’s a problem.

Look. The first step to solving this is YouTubers need to see this is in fact a problem. Content creators are frustrated. We feel unimportant. We want to provide the best possible content for YouTubers to give them something to create a series from. We are on the YouTubers’ side!! But we also want to feel like our projects are useful and appreciated.





How can we change this?

Honestly, I don’t have the perfect answer. But leaving the issue alone is not going fix anything. There is power in numbers. And if every single content creator makes this an issue, change can happen. There are some creators who are quite content with the fact that a YouTube channel featured their work, and they simply do not require anything else. But I believe from those I have talked to, the majority wants something more. Do not let this issue die! Let them know, attribution IS important! Comment on those channels who neglect credit - even when it’s not your own content.





Share this with as many YouTubers you know, and maybe, just maybe we can get our message across.