Of the pros and cons of plagiarism

I have received a wonderful compliment without even knowing it! It wasn't until this morning, while on a google search, that I found out.
So what was it?
Another professional studio has copied and pasted my dermal anchor information and guidelines on their website, almost word for word!
You know what they say, imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. My knowledge and expertise must be very highly valued to feature on their website. And it is good to know that a tried and tested set of aftercare guidelines can now get to a wider audience. But you don't need to take my word for it, follow the link to our info:

Dermal info (original)

And for the new, and oh so very slightly modified? Just follow the link:

Dermal info (new)

Look familiar?

I suppose there is a rather worrying idea that occurs. If that was just a quick copy / paste, then replace studio names. What else is? How much plagiarism actually happens within the tattoo / body piercing industry. If you are looking at a portfolio, how much of it belongs to the studio? Is it right for a studio to use content that isn't theirs to promote their business?
We prefer to keep things all above board, that's why I do all the writing, ensuring it is all cohesive, and definitely ours. Even our pictures are tied, notice how most of them have our brick wall in the background? I guess that way there are no grounds to question our ability, ethics or professionalism. Call me facetious, but that is really important to me, and Urban Piercings.

Of the great p.t.f.e / surface bar debate

Like women's rights, environmental issues, communism, border controls and what the actual point to 'Lost' is; the surface bar / p.t.f.e war will likely rage on, and on, and on, and on. I won't add my voice to the throng, but I will put forward a few questions:
Can users of either method claim 100% success rate?
Aren't both methods heavily dependent on the piercee taking very, very good care of the piercing?
So with these asked, I'll just put it out there:
Are unprofessional piercers using either method really good ambassadors, can it be fair to use the individual as examples of the whole?
People are different, can a 'one method fits all' solution be expected to work?
Isn't the procedure and placement just as important as the jewellery used?
Maybe one day I'll discuss what I consider to be good procedure, though as I use p.t.f.e it is very likely I'll be considered completely unqualified, and dismissed out of hand. At the risk of breaking my own ethos of keeping my entries short, succinct and to the point, I'll leave the battle field with this parting shot:



Yup, they are all p.t.f.e. I won't pillage other peoples photos for pictures of healed surface bar piercings, but will be happy to put them up if anyone sends them in!

Of pain, and the logical approach

I have recently been chatting to a tattoo artist about some work I’m keen about, a cover-up of a less than wonderful piece I had done as an even less than scrupulous youth. I’ll cut what could be a very long, BME-esque, 5000 word essay, somewhat short, to this: In order to do the cover up and do it well, the piece will need to be big.
[tattooist] Mmm . . . about eighteen hours, umm . . . three sessions should do it.
Time froze and my limited mathematical capabilities seemed to freeze with it, might as well have asked me to work out the period of a sine curve at 420 hertz, then commit it to an algebraic formula while spinning plates crossing a high wire. But back to the point; When I had stood there with a puzzled look, far longer than dignity allowed, the kindly tattooist put me out of my misery.
[tattooist] That’s three, six hour sessions.
Now this isn’t a way of patting myself on the back for how ‘fuckin hardcore, yeah!!!’ I am. I am absolutely terrified. I am neither as gung-ho, nor as bloody minded as I used to be about how much pain I am happy to cause myself. I no longer need pain to feel alive, I have my basil plant for that. So when I turn up for the dreaded ‘afternoon session’ do I flap on in, full tilt, “ohmygodohmygod”. Or do I step back, look at it logically, and decide that panicking won’t make it hurt any less, jumping up and down won’t make it go any quicker and that countless people have been in this same chair, doing the same thing and are all out there now, still very much alive and happy. Oh, and I have paid money to be here!
So do I feel pain less than my customers? Are their piercings more painful than any I have ever had? Am I shooting myself in the foot if I say no? I am not unsympathetic, I just try and approach things as logically as I can. Seems to have worked well so far . . .

Of body piercing and artistic endeavours

Body piercing is all about lines and forms. Every piercing has an ideal place that is in sympathy with its surroundings, even simple cartilage piercings have a right and a wrong place. Which brings me to one of my favorite subjects; lines, symmetry and geometry. Call me fussy but I like nothing more than marking a piercing just so, taking into account every line and shape that is already there, working with, not against the body and individuality of my customer.
And then, i suppose, not so much 'doing a piercing' as insinuating the jewellery . . . just . . . there. . .
To watch me scrutinizing your body part, chewing my lip and muttering incoherently may seem a little disturbing. But don't worry, I'm probably too absorbed to care.
So are body piercers always to be just needle pushers? Receptionists at tattoo studios and second rate subsidiaries? (The amount of times I've heard; "So do you do tattoos too then?") Is there a place for the piercer that takes their time, thinks about what they do and can be proud of their work?
I think so, and the shift of awareness I have noticed in my customers over the last couple of years, says that you do to.
So yes, yes there is.

Of 'ye olde' ways of thought

'Yup, if you can pinch it you can pierce it.'
This is accompanied with a somewhat vague look, normally as a result of the orator hearing nothing but the till opening, and your money being thrown in. And I suppose, occasionally as the result of, well, nothing at all, in particular, really. . . Um.
And technically it's true. But then the same can be said of such golden oldies as; 'just give it a kick, that'll get it workin'', and 'give him another drink, that'll sort him out!'. So yes, back in the dark ages these were perfectly solid chunks of reason and logic, able to withstand the protestations of all sensitive and thoughtful people. But today?
Well that’s just not good enough really, is it?

Of the inconstant piercer

I am an inconstant piercer, I admit it. The way I pierce one tragus may, and probably will be totally different to the way I do another. And that's not even mentioning the more challenging work I do.
Yes, I freely admit it. And that is one of the many reasons I love my job so much. It always keeps me on my toes.
There cannot be such a thing as a 'one-size-fits-all' method of piercing. That would be denying the individuality and needs of your customer. What will look good for one may be a terrible mistake on another. What may heal well for someone may give months of discomfort for somebody else. So does your piercer understand you and what may be good for you?
Are you the same as the person next door?

Nope, me neither