Mining for ideas, is it just theft?

webofink

I've had an idea about creating a webcomic that nobody will ever read. It's a highly original concept regarding a guy that works in a helpdesk environment, and all the crap he has to put up with. I think you'll agree that nobody has ever done anything like this before, and it's just crazy enough to work.

Anyhoo, this is my dilemma. I used to work in a fairly busy IT helpdesk, and the only thing that kept me sane was the interaction with my coworkers, cubicle wars, drinking on the job, and a mutual disregard for our clients. At the time, it seemed like I had a million funny stories.

I've since moved into a more technical administrative role (network admin), and it's a little bit more "adult". By which I mean "sterile". By which I mean "Oh god I'm so bored". I wanted to get back into art, since it's something I've always enjoyed, and figured I'd finally get around to writing my outrageously original helpdesk inspired comic.

Only.. I can't remember any of the funny stuff. I mean, apart from very generic "and the printer wasn't even plugged in!!" faff, I'm having a hard time thinking of anything good to write about. While it was all good spirited fun when we were making fun of stupid users, all the stupid shit I have to deal with now is, ironically, from the helpdesk staff, who should really know better and just make me fucking angry. This, plus the fact that I have nobody in the office to bounce things off. There is a dearth of funny in my life.

So. If I start a thread somewhere for people to post their funny helpdesk stories, and then mine that thread for ideas for my script, is it just theft? I mean, I've been in that war man, I've got the scars to prove it, but does that entitle me to manipulate or use other peoples stories?

Should I be just be looking for other people to bounce things off instead?

I don't want to have to make friends dammit.

All input/advice will be noted for consideration! Cheers!

mr_mich

Watch the TV show, "The IT Crowd."

It's hilarious, and it'll make you rethink which aspects of your comic can be original.

webofink

Yeah, I've seen every season of The IT Crowd. At first I got annoyed that it didn't have more actual "IT" stuff in it, and then I realised they probably ran into the same issues I did, so I just enjoy it for what it is. Which is that it's hilarious.

There's only so many times you can say "did you turn it off and back on again" before it starts to lose its edge. I'm pretty sure if I used that as the basis of my strip, most people would know where I was stealing it from, and then I would be hunted down and shot.

Maybe I should just smash together some ideas that I have rattling around in here and see how it turns out, and what the response is?

Oh, some things about me. I have a pretty dry wit (probably too much Blackadder as a kid) and it might not translate well in text. When I say "I'm pretty sure nobody has ever made a comic strip about a helpdesk before", that's code for "I'm aware I'm not very original."

Shit, Dilbert was rocking this idea decades ago.

Also: I type a lot.

ceres

If you take other people's stories and use them as your own, I'd probably say that counts unless you credit the posters in the thread when you use their stuff, which is actually kind of cool in itself if you can take the back-and-forth and illustrate it in a funny way.

webofink

ceres wrote:

If you take other people's stories and use them as your own, I'd probably say that counts unless you credit the posters in the thread when you use their stuff, which is actually kind of cool in itself if you can take the back-and-forth and illustrate it in a funny way.

Actually, that's an idea in itself. Oh... and it just led to another one. When my therapist told me there were advantages to social interaction, I thought it was just some smarmy hippy BS!

Okay, so this is what I have now. Central character who interacts with a rotating "cast". Each cast member represented by the person who influenced the script. Each script has "cast credits" possibly linking to the exchange that started the idea for the thread. Not only might that actually be viable, it could also increase participation if people knew they might be featured in my totally original comic that nobody is going to read.

Intredasting.

EDIT: Just realised I basically copied your exact idea, but made it less succinct. That should work in my favour when writing a 3 panel strip...

ceres

Yeah, it's not exactly what I was thinking, which was more along the lines of taking the stories as posted and doing them up "Hyperbole and a Half" or "Books of Adam" style, as blog entries. It doesn't really matter what you decide to do with the stories you gather; as long as you make sure you're giving credit where it's due you can forge ahead with a clear conscience.

tarnok

Scott Adam's email address is in the margin of every Dilbert comic. I'm sure he started out with many of his own stories and experiences, but for years now a large chunk of his material has come from stories people email him.

Eat it You Nasty Pig.

There's nothing wrong with 'mining for stories' as long as you don't do it under false pretense. You don't need to include a credit or something with every comic.

Straygatsby

If you can't come up with your own stories (fabricate, not remember), you may find it more than a little difficult to sustain a running series. That said, what you're describing sounds more like crowdsourcing than theft, and while that word is stupid and should never be used again by anyone, I think you're free and clear to engage in it provided everyone playing is aware of the rules.

WildEEP

Woody at GUComics (You can google it) does this on a regular basis - folks send in ideas and he makes a strip around them. You might check out how his interpretation on that works.

webofink

Thanks for the input everyone. I've decided that the Director of IT Services is going to be a pipe smoking manatee, so I can probably get a few stories out of that. Actually, now that I think about it, that probably means I won't have to worry too much about realism. I feel a lot better about, ahem, crowdsourcing ideas now, so that's something I might approach if my own well runs dry.

Cheers all!

GalFriday

Asking for anecdotes which you then use as the base for comics or stories which you author is not theft IMHO

The Brothers Grimm are authors. Their stories had been told via word of mouth for generations before they wrote them down, however they chose the words which are now famous. The fact that they did not invent every moment of the story does not matter, what matters is that they told it best.

L Ron Howard

A friend of mine is a writer for a two-man web comic. He does all the writing and the guy, obviously, does all of the drawing. Maybe look into something similar to that?