I think it’s hyperbole though. She owns her own body. The headline should probably read “what happens when a virtual streamer is involved in copyright dispute over their purchased streaming avatar”

That doesnt make as good clickbait

As noted by aplummer (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25621023), the “body” in the title is the virtual body, that is a 3D model including the animation rig.

The origin of the dispute is that the artist that made the model for her claims that, after she bought the model, he did some extra work that she did not pay:

> The artist said on Twitter that he stopped working with Melody earlier this year, claiming that she failed to pay him for “months of support” that included “free assets, fixes, and project management.” He then asked her to sign a “service deal” for ongoing support, which she refused. “She didn’t pay for the service deal nor the work I did leading up to it. So I said bye,” DigitrevX wrote.

> Melody claims she offered to pay for the “free” work, but DigitrevX refused. He continued to be “rude” and “insulting,” Melody wrote, so she eventually cut ties. “I finally blocked him after he kept saying shitty things about me, and now he has resorted to trying to de-platform me, starting with twitch,” Melody wrote.

> paying 5k$ for what is effectively is a low-res human base There are free alternatives which allow zero-skill 3D modeling, e.g. https://github.com/makehumancommunity/makehuman

I would like to pay someone or a project if I can. Not 5k but something. If someone spends time on it, we should pay ir at the very least attribute.

If you have more links, please share.

What I find absolutely fascinating is how easy it is to deplatform someone on Twitch using copyright and DMCA. Should the assumption be that Twitch is no different than YouTube or any other platform in which people use to make money: You do so only at the platforms acquiesce.

> Should the assumption be that Twitch is no different than YouTube or any other platform in which people use to make money: You do so only at the platforms acquiesce.

That should always be the assumption with any business, unless you have a contract specifying otherwise.

What a ridiculous dispute. One of the IP lawyers quoted in the article nailed it:

> “Clearly you’re not going to pay someone to buy artwork that you never intend to use.”

Lovely dismissive comment from hacker news there.

Gonna start putting hacker in quotes like that n-gate person at this rate. There's some serious tech involved in these virtual streamers.

Make 2021 better.

If you want a good example of that see CodeMiko's setup using Unreal 4.

Absolutely! Miko was the first one of these vtubers I saw. The video of her taking off the mo-cap suit while still plugged in[1] hooked me and the technician (out of character behind the scenes) streams keep me coming back.

I actually don't really watch the "real" streams as they're quite interview heavy with people I don't know[2] but I'm inhaling all the tech. Very impressive stuff!

1. https://clips.twitch.tv/UglyEasyPuddingDansGame

2. Nothing against them, I just follow a lot of high quality content streamers, sometimes someone's doing something more interesting is all.

e: updated link to the source rather than some random YouTube reupload

Why do people watch streamers??? I never understood how/why twitch took off

I've never understood it either, but I've also never understood the sports craze. I imagine the motivations/interest is similar. To each their own I guess.

Why do people watch sports, reality TV, or Jeopardy? It's a zero-risk, low-effort way to participate in something interesting or the community surrounding it.

I don't know. I watch very little tv