I posted this in the NGPD, but maybe some of our members can benefit from this, too. Even if not, it never hurts to have it out there.
Slash's Stolen Flash Tips!
First up, if I see a very good flash, but it has no author's comments...or the author's comments are stupid...it sets off a warning siren in my head. Usually authors capable of incredible flash are going to talk about the flash to the viewers, not saying nothing or mangle grammar with "yeah this is kewl" crap.
In this event, further investigation is warranted. First up...and this is often something I do with submitters with only one or two other flash, anyway...look at their other flash, if they have any. If they've only got one or two, and either/both are already flagged, that's a big sign of potential trouble.
Also, if they have no previous flashes, that can be a warning sign. No one becomes a flash master overnight. Now, it is possible that this person is a talented artist who has just found Newgrounds and decided to submit it here. So before I go on, let me say that you should never flag solely on suspicion...ONLY if you can find an original source.
Okay, if you're getting some/all of these warning signs, it's time to do some searching. Search for the title of the flash. Now, also look IN the flash for the title. Sometimes, to try and dodge being caught, they'll give the SUBMISSION a different title than the flash. For example, the stolen "I Love Egg" flash submissions were called "Happy Egg" or something along those lines.
If you find search results matching it, WATCH THE SEARCH RESULTS. It's possible the names are just similar, so make sure the .swf's are the same.
If you find no results, but you still got a bad feeling about it, try google. Not every good flash is on Newgrounds, because we (unlike some sites) don't just steal good content, we ask artists to submit.
If you do find it on another site, make sure the accused submitter doesn't have the site as his profile site...if so, it's very possible he just put the flash on his site, AND on Newgrounds.
And lastly, if you do confirm a stolen flash, post a link to it in the Elite Guard Barracks AND the NGPD, with a link to the original's location. We don't whistle flash without hard proof. If you have suspicion, you can ask the EGB/NGPD to investigate, but we will not whistle without clear confirmation.