Messages I Don't Want To Send

I worked for a good while today crafting a message to someone who is trying to start a business in the 3D printing space.  I could go into details, but I did eventually agree to help out by showing model of theirs on our social media after he got enough up to show that he had something people could actually purchase and use.   He's been a bit of a pest, is the best way I can put it, imposing in places in a way that was more pushy than anything, even though he had a lot of enthusiasm with his requests. 

For some reason, a friend and I just got a slimy feeling, which is not very kind to say about someone, I know.   He's doing something hard, starting a business and going up against larger competitors, trying to vie for the dollars from 3D printing people around the world.   But something was off.  

It was two days ago that I noticed another model on his site that was very clearly one from a known designer.   I messaged the designer, with a sinking feeling that I knew the answer.   It was not his design.   Can you take a model, make a few changes and sell it or publish it as your own?  It's not good practice and you'll get a negative response from a lot of the community.  But these models aren't worth dramatic amounts of money and protecting them isn't feasible with a worldwide population across country lines. 

So I had to collect evidence today, working with two of the designers, and write up what I was seeing and that I can no longer publish a video with his model in it given what I'm seeing.  I'm taking the tact that he needs to be careful what he publishes from his designers, acting like I don't think he's involved.   But the evidence shows that he knows exactly who the designers are and is a paid member of one of the creators Patreon so has access to all his models. 

I don't want to send it to him, because I don't like this kind of negativity.  But it has to be done because as it stands, I've committed to showing his model in a video and I don't want to renege on that without an explanation.  

I'm not looking forward to the resulting conversation.   I would rather I didn't agree to post a design at all, but I do like helping people out and he was trying to do something positive for the community.  That is until other creator's models started showing up on their site. 

The Big Boy Update:  My son went to see my daughter at her concert tonight.  He looked reproachfully at us and said, "I'm just her brother and I'm clapping a lot louder than you all are."  He was in his most protective mood tonight.   It was quite sweet to see him so.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter stood on stage after not eating a lot today because she said she was nervous about the two school concerts and the family concert tonight.   I thought she was hot in her sweater.   I asked her about it afterwards and she said she got sweaty when she was nervous.   She sang just beautifully.