Shutting down Sketchfab: a threat to science, art and culture
Epic Games is consolidating its 3D assets into a new marketplace called Fab, causing concern among Sketchfab users. Scientists and artists fear losing access to free 3D models and restrictions on the dissemination of scientific data.
3D Asset Consolidation
Community Concerns
Content creators are raising concerns about the closure of popular free 3D model repository Sketchfab and its integration into Epic Games' new Fab platform. The main concerns relate to potential changes in licensing policies, format support, and the availability of resources for educational and scientific purposes.
Threats to Cultural Heritage
Sketchfab has served as a home to extensive digital collections from museums, universities, and independent artists. Many of them signed a petition calling for the existing storage facility to be preserved. Some experts compare the possible closure of the platform to the destruction of the Library of Alexandria, emphasizing its importance for the preservation of cultural heritage.
Epic Games Strategy
Epic Games, known for its developments in the gaming industry, has been actively expanding its presence in the market in recent years 3D models. The company has acquired a number of competing platforms, including Quixel, ArtStation and Sketchfab. Now Epic Games is looking to consolidate these resources into a single marketplace called Fab.
Transition and Uncertainty
Sketchfab has stopped registering new creators and has encouraged existing users to migrate their work to Fab. While Epic Games has promised to provide alternative solutions for free-access content after 2025, the details of this process remain unclear, causing further concern among the community.
Licensing Issues
One of the key issues relates to the handling of models distributed under various Creative Commons licenses. Currently, Fab only allows the transfer of models that allow commercial use with attribution. This creates challenges for scientific and academic projects, which often have restrictions on the commercial use of data.
Impact on scientific publications
The changes may have a negative impact on scientific publications that use Sketchfab's built-in 3D model viewer. Losing access to this tool may result in important visual content not being available in published studies.
Glossary
- Epic Games is a video game and software company, creator of the Unreal Engine
- Sketchfab - platform for publishing, sharing and discovering 3D content online
- Fab - new 3D asset marketplace created by Epic Games
- Creative Commons - a set of licenses for the free distribution of creative works
- Unreal Engine - a game engine developed by Epic Games
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Discussion of the topic – Shutting down Sketchfab: a threat to science, art and culture
Epic Games is shutting down free 3D model repository Sketchfab, causing concern among scientists, museums and artists. Content is being moved to Fab's marketplace, raising questions about licensing and the availability of free models.
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Luca
Wow, this is truly alarming news for the scientific community. I use Sketchfab for my research and the thought of losing access to thousands of free 3D models is absolutely terrifying. 😰
Sophia
I agree, Luca. This could hit educational projects hard. But maybe Epic Games will offer some kind of solution for non-commercial use? 🤔
Pierre
I hope so, Sophia. But I worry that Epic Games may not understand the importance of open access to the scientific community. Perhaps we should start a petition? 📝
Isabella
Great idea, Pierre! I can help spread the word through social media. Maybe if we get enough attention, Epic Games will listen to our concerns. 💪
Viktor
You're all being too dramatic. Technologies change, companies develop. There will be other platforms or solutions. There is no need to fuss over trifles.
Luca
Viktor, this is not nothing. We are talking about years of work and invaluable data. But I agree that we need to look for alternatives. Does anyone know of other platforms for storing scientific 3D models? 🔍
Marta
I heard about the Open Science Framework. It doesn't specialize in 3D, but may be a good option for scientific data. Worth exploring! 🧐
Pierre
Thanks for the idea, Marta! Maybe we should create a working group to study alternatives and develop a plan of action? I am ready to coordinate efforts. 🤝