Folks, I’ve come to a decision. Please don’t ask if you can use my images for your websites, as the answer is no.

Here’s my reasoning—I made this site in the first place because there was nothing else like it on the internet, and I wanted to have a completely original site, because I get sick of seeing the same information and content on thousands of Dragonball sites. I’m sure I’m not alone in this. I firmly believe that a website (especially a fansite, and especially about DBZ) should only exist if it can provide original content, or an original spin on the idea that no one has thought of. Some great examples of this are the most popular DBZ sites, including Planet Namek, which boasts tons of original content, or sites like Ginga GIRI GIRI, which is definitely an original spin on the idea of DBZ.

When I started it, the DBTI was the only site of its kind—in fact, the only other DBZ toy site, Waverunner’s, had already been closed, and it was nowhere near as comprehensive or as up-to-date as I planned to and still work on being. Very few other sites even had toy sections. Many do now. Do I take a teeny-tiny bit of credit for that? You’re darn right I do. However, I’ve also run into the problem that many sites with toy sections have nothing that I don’t, and they pirated my images and content to build their toy sections, which flat out pisses me off.

Many people have asked for permission to use my images in the past, for one reason or another, and I think I’ve been more than gracious, as long as proper credit and links were provided back to my site. I really like some of the sites that have used my images with permission, if only because they have done the work to write out their own original reviews, and they come up with great original content (my favorite example of this being Krillin and Friends, home of the famous (or should I say infamous) Krillin Theater). However, for every good site, there are ten that frankly aren’t as good, and there are a hundred that flat out steal the images in the first place.

Hence, I’ve decided not to give anyone else permission to use my images. Those who already have permission may use the pics they already have up, but please don’t take any more. And everyone, please don’t write in asking to use images from now on. Thanks.

Okay, my rant’s over, you may now return to your regularly scheduled programming..

Posted by Jess Horsley on August 27, 2000 08:02 AM