Database Data
Good for them. But there is a lot of older maps up there still, I found one of mine. I certainly didnt give the bastard permission to put it up there. You want one database for all the available maps on all the databases ou there? Fine. Give links to the databases. Dont put the maps there yourself without permission. What happened to intellectual property?
Ill certainly be completeing DMCA request.
EDIT: Oh and for any non-Americans, according to the DMCA website it looks like its all good, you can still send the request in.
I think in terms of boolean variables. Generally, it makes things easier.
Like others have said, I don't mind having my map copied, but asking first would be polite and courteous.
What I don't like about this site is that it's pulling traffic away from the most respectable Portal 2 community out there (this one) into its own not-yet-tested system. Even if PortalDB is a huge success, It's pulling apart the community. There should just be one reliable site to post Portal-related custom content, and that site should be TWP.
Did you know that American English isn't even my first language? It's actually [spoiler]British English[/spoiler]
Released maps of note:
[spoiler]Versatile Diversity
L-Circuts[/spoiler]
The fact that the person blatently scraped our site's content - between August 9th and 11th it looks like, based on the web server logs - shows to me they don't care about permission. And that's why I'm urging all of the map authors to file a DMCA on the host.
Please do not Private Message me for assistance. Post a thread if you have questions or concerns.
If you need to contact the staff privately, contact the Global Moderators via Discord.
Hello everyone.
It's been a long time since i last posted here. I'm actually working on my 2nd map atm. I just didn't find any time or inspiration to map something that's worth publishing on this website. But this is beside the point.
I've got an email and after reading some/most of the posts here I got a better picture of what people think of this. 1st of all I get what msleeper is trying to say. Who ever made the website did it without any permission from mappers and owners of this website(msleeper i suppose).
But i also think that we can all learn from this experience. I decided to google my map(wasn't really creative with map name) and found out that a lot of people have decided to upload them to different websites. Luckily for me on all of them I was named as author, even on a french site 
. Anyway this was kinda of the point so let me get back to it. IF you look at the portalDB website you'll see a lot of improvement that TWP.com could implement and make this website even better. For example the search is very simple and there for it's easy to find maps. Search by number of downloads, rating, uploaded date and stuff like that make it easier for people to find maps they might want to play and that site has managed to do this. Unfortunately I can't say this for TWP and i wish this kind of things were added. And I'm speaking from my own experience when i say that usually I end up search stuff by date added and the number of dls. When searching for something new i go with date and when I just feel like playing a quality map on my own or with my friends I look up to dl count and rating.
Anyway i'll stop here i've managed to type a lot without really saying much but you know..that's what foreigners do
I have gone ahead and filed a DMCA Takedown request with the host as an umbrella, since TWP is originally hosting this content. Anyone who does not want their map hosted there, or who feels that they should have been asked permission for this prior to it being rehosted, is strongly urged to file a similar DMCA takedown. Here is an example DMCA, and the addresses it needs to be mailed to:
MAIL TO THESE ADDRESSES
- Code: Select all
admin@portaldb.net, hostmaster@serverkompetenz.de, marco@brakis.de, abuse-server@strato.de
DMCA TAKEDOWN
Copy in full, fill in your information, look for content in [BRACKETS]
- Code: Select all
October 31, 2011[YOUR NAME]
[YOUR EMAIL]
[YOUR PHONE NUMBER]
[YOUR FULL MAILING ADDRESS]Stratoserver.net, Strato AG
C/O Copyright Agent for Notice of Claims of Copyright InfringementSent via: Email
DMCA Notice of Copyright Infringement
re: Copyright infringement of hosted contentDear Stratoserver.net, Strato AG,
Please take appropriate action to disable access to the infringing
materials described below, in accordance with the provisions of the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998.Should you require further information regarding this matter, please
feel free to return email, or if necessary, call me by phone. Thank
you for your quick assistance and cooperation.Regards,
[YOUR NAME]
ELECTRONIC NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
I, the undersigned, CERTIFY UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY that I am an
agent authorized to act on behalf of the owner of certain intellectual
property rights, said owner being named:[YOUR NAME], original copyright holder
I have a good faith belief that the items or materials listed below
are not authorized by the above IP Owners, their agents, or the law
and therefore infringe the IP Owner's rights. Please act expeditiously
to remove or disable access to the material or items claimed to be
infringing.I may be contacted at:
[YOUR NAME]
[YOUR EMAIL]
[YOUR PHONE NUMBER]
[YOUR FULL MAILING ADDRESS]My actual or electronic signature follows:
/s/ [YOUR NAME]
Allegedly Infringing items or materials:
Infringed Work or Right:
- Content uploaded without original author's permissionLocation of ORIGINAL WORKS:
- [URL to your file downloads, IE:]
- http://forums.thinking.withportals.com/downloads.php?view=detail&df_id=xxxxURL(s) of Infringed Works or Right:
- http://www.portaldb.net/maps
Yes, you have to fill out all of the information there for it to be a "valid" DMCA request.
I have also taken measures for this person to no longer be able to scrape content from our site, and I'm going to be looking into the appropriate cyberlaws that would apply to maliciously copying content like this.
It was Halloween, so I expected something coming back from the dead. 
Has this issue continued since August 21? I just check the PortalDB website and the person hasn't uploaded any new maps (that I could tell). I get where msleeper is coming from; however, taking action now seems a bit too late. If the person/site manager hasn't taken down the maps that authors told him to (he posted he would take down maps if people e-mailed him), then I would feel the need to file a DMCA.
My Work
[spoiler]Maps:
Revenge of the Angry Turrets
Capture the Cube [Co-op]
Capture the Cube 2 [Co-op]
TPWEGTH Sample Map
Aperture Aquatic Testing Center
Aperture Aquatic Testing Center 2
Aperture Time Testing Center
ML's Halloween Trick - 1000 downloads!
ML's Halloween Treat
ML's Combination - 1000 downloads!
ML's Jailbreak Labyrinth
ML's Tricky Teamwork [Co-op]
WIP:
"Capture the Cube 3"
Workshop Maps Link: http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198008890579/myworkshopfiles/[/spoiler]
Anyone is welcome to write me an email if he/she doesn't want his/her map on my site. Three people have done this so far and I removed their map. This is absolutely no problem.
For now I also linked back to your site. What do you mean with "steal traffic". How is this a bad thing? If I have less traffic I pay less money for it. This is actually good for me 
Also note that my website doesn't have any advertisement. I don't gain anything with it. I only provide a place where you can search easily for maps. I have received a lot (!) emails from users who appreciate this work. Thanks a lot for this. Those emails make sure I keep the service running.
@Michelle: You never tried to contact me. If you have any problem or doesn't like certain things then talk about it. How should I know that you dislike another place for Portal 2 maps.
I kinda' see where everybody's coming from, but is there really still a problem here? I found two of my maps on portaldb.net - was naturally pretty darn surprised - but clicked the download link and subsequently found that I was linked back to my maps on ThinkingWithPortals. Actually, ALL the data there seemed to be in coherence with that here.
Also, I was shocked to see the massive amount of downloads there, and am sort of confused: Does that number indicate clicks on the link, or actual downloads? Because the number is really quite close to the number of downloads I got here.
Also, to T3rm1: I don't mind you posting my maps, you have my consent. I can, however, not speak for everyone here. A little more display of compassion wouldn't hurt, although linking to TWP is really good.
PS: I don't get this one thing though. People want to adress DMCA to take down their stuff. An email to the site, wich stated it would take it down too, is far easier, right? Anyway, good luck to everyone sorting this thing out.
Maps in Development:
[spoiler]- Penrose 04 (on hold)[/spoiler]
This changed, as of yesterday the content was hosted on their site and did not link back here.
The DMCA notice requires a physical mailing address, otherwise it's not "valid".
I did contact you. I sent you a DMCA. That's the only form of contact I need regarding this issue. Comply with the DMCA notice or I'll continue to take up the matter with your host.
Please do not Private Message me for assistance. Post a thread if you have questions or concerns.
If you need to contact the staff privately, contact the Global Moderators via Discord.
What exactly is on the DMCA?
Edit: I mean the DMCA that msleeper typed.
I need to see both sides of this, I also feel uneasy since this issue took place several months ago and it was resolved (to a certain extent); but as msleeper said, that the PortalDB site isn't redirecting the download to this site anymore as the PortalDB site manager posted it would be monthes ago. I can be tolerant some things to a certain point but not upholding you're (T3rm1) previous statement:
This make me question your sincerity about this.
My Work
[spoiler]Maps:
Revenge of the Angry Turrets
Capture the Cube [Co-op]
Capture the Cube 2 [Co-op]
TPWEGTH Sample Map
Aperture Aquatic Testing Center
Aperture Aquatic Testing Center 2
Aperture Time Testing Center
ML's Halloween Trick - 1000 downloads!
ML's Halloween Treat
ML's Combination - 1000 downloads!
ML's Jailbreak Labyrinth
ML's Tricky Teamwork [Co-op]
WIP:
"Capture the Cube 3"
Workshop Maps Link: http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198008890579/myworkshopfiles/[/spoiler]
Michelle you broke your download section. It doesn't work for every browser. I offer my help to fix this problem if you can't solve it yourself!
I already linked back to TWP because for some odd reasons you don't like a free mirror. Please note that I don't have to do this.
You don't have any license agreement on your site. Please take a look at the Valve license (Hammer Editor). Also, the DMCA is a law in the United States. I don't even offend against it since I don't violete any copyrights (authors name is still shown, download is not modified).
To be honest I have really no idea what your problem is.