We are not saying this to present ourselves as a charity. We do it because we enjoy SCUM and want to build a thriving community around the game. At the same time, we expect at least a basic level of respect for the work behind the entire project.
The current dispute did not begin with a single logo. It was preceded by several events that we initially felt no need to address publicly. After the latest comments directed at us, however, we decided to describe the entire situation and clearly explain why we do not want to be associated in any way with this streamer or his upcoming server.
We were looking for a streamer for SCUM.SK
Some time ago, we published an announcement on our portal saying that we were looking for a streamer to become part of SCUM.SK. Both the article and the application form repeatedly stated that this was not a paid or monetized position.
It was not a job offer. We were looking for someone from the community who enjoyed streaming and wanted to help us build a Czechoslovak SCUM project. Like everyone else involved in SCUM.SK, they would contribute their part voluntarily.
Despite this, the streamer wrote at the end of the form that he would not do it for free.
At that point, his application no longer made sense to us. He did not meet one of the most basic conditions, which we had stated in several places in the announcement. We concluded that our ideas about the collaboration were entirely different and chose a newcomer who was comfortable with this arrangement.
We did not reply to him. In hindsight, we acknowledge that a brief response would have been more courteous. However, this was not a case where he met every condition and we simply ignored his message. He applied for a voluntary position and then stated that he would not perform it voluntarily.
He later interpreted this as SCUM.SK being “unable even to reply to him.” We saw it much more simply: the offer was clear, his request directly contradicted it, and so we did not continue the conversation.
Did a rejected collaboration become a personal issue?
The rejection itself did not have to mean anything. Creating content without compensation does not suit everyone, and there is nothing inherently wrong with that. A streamer has the right to monetize their content and make decisions based on what is financially worthwhile.
The problem is how he subsequently began speaking about us.
While promoting his upcoming SCUM server, he referred to us on stream as “čobolákov” and spoke as though we owed him something or had deliberately harmed him by rejecting the collaboration.
Let us not pretend that “čobolák” is a neutral term. Available dictionary sources describe it as a derogatory term for a Slovak, or an ethnic slur.
Among friends, the meaning of similar words can of course be shaped by context. This, however, was not a friendly conversation or mutual teasing. It was a streamer publicly talking about a Slovak project while promoting his own competing server.
We do not consider this kind of communication normal or professional. We can disagree about how servers are run, collaboration, rules, or anything else. Nationality, however, is not an argument, especially in our case, because we are also preparing the entire scum.sk website in Czech and English.
It seems even stranger because this streamer used to play Battle Royale on our servers without any issue. At that time, SCUM.SK, its servers, and the people behind the project clearly did not bother him. Did the problem begin only after we did not select him for a position whose basic conditions he himself rejected? Or did he apply already knowing that he was going to launch a server anyway?
Then we noticed our logo in his thumbnails
Shortly before this dispute, we noticed something else on his channel. He was using his own stream thumbnails containing the graphic version of the logo used by the SCUM.SK project.
We do not, of course, own the name or official logo of the game SCUM. Our version, however, is not an ordinary SCUM logo. We added our own damaged frame, three red scratches, the .SK mark, and a specific arrangement of all the elements.
This exact modified version also appeared in his thumbnails. The frame and red scratches remained intact. However, the .SK section that clearly linked the graphic to our project was covered by a character.
This was not a case of sharing our post or using the graphic with the SCUM.SK branding visible. The streamer created his own thumbnail to promote his content and his own project. He kept the parts of our logo that suited his design and covered the exact part that revealed its origin.
When we began addressing it, he argued that he had actually been promoting us.
But who exactly was he promoting when he covered the .SK mark?
If the goal had been to promote SCUM.SK, the logo would have remained complete, the project would have been credited, and the content would have included at least a link or a mention. None of that happened. The thumbnail promoted his stream and, later, his own server.
That did not promote us in any way. He was left with a ready-made graphic element that made his thumbnail look better.
Why we did not notice it immediately
One of his arguments was that we must have seen the thumbnails back when he streamed on our servers or when we joined his stream.
That is simply not true.
When someone joins a live broadcast already in progress, they watch the stream itself. They may not notice the thumbnail at all. It is not a graphic displayed directly in the video throughout the broadcast.
We only came across the use of the logo later, while browsing his channel and saved thumbnails. The fact that we did not address it on the day it was published does not mean that we approved it or knew about it.
When we found the graphic, we began asking why he was using our modified version of the logo and why he had covered the .SK part in particular.
Instead of a simple answer such as “I did not notice it; I will change it,” we were told that he had been advertising us and that we must have known about everything for a long time.
Accusations of copying zones
The entire situation has another ironic side. At the same time, the other side accused us of copying their in-game zones.
PvP zones, PvE areas, warzones, arenas, safe zones, and locations with increased loot are not the unique invention of a single community server. Servers use them in various games, and each can implement them in its own way.
If we copied specific texts, graphics, names, a technical solution, or an entire system, it would be entirely legitimate to present evidence and ask for an explanation. The statement “they have zones and we have zones” proves nothing on its own. The best part? The main SCUM.SK server had a PvE zone from the day it was launched; it was merely disabled for three weeks during a three-month period.
We do not have a problem with people making money
We do not want this article to suggest that monetizing streams or a game server is automatically wrong. It is not.
Everyone has the right to earn money from their work, ask to be paid for a collaboration, and decide not to do anything without compensation. We have the same right to say that we are not looking for such a person for a voluntary project.
What is not acceptable, however, is using the result of someone else’s unpaid work in your own commercial content without asking for permission. This is especially true when the original project’s branding is covered in the graphic and the claim is then made that this was promotion for that project.
We invest a great deal of time in creating SCUM.SK. The fact that we provide our work to the community free of charge does not mean it is worthless or that anyone may automatically use it for their own business and promotion.
The least anyone can do is ask.
Why we are addressing this publicly
We are not publishing this situation so that anyone will attack his stream, Discord, or upcoming server. We have no interest in raids, insults, or personal attacks.
We are publishing it because we do not want the SCUM.SK project to be associated with someone who publicly labels us with a derogatory term for Slovaks while also using our graphics to promote his own content.
We also want a public record of exactly what happened. We have the original logo, can document its earlier use, and have saved thumbnails in which our version was used with the .SK mark covered.
The entire matter could have ended with one normal message. All it would have taken was an acknowledgement that the wrong graphic had been used, an update to the thumbnails, and no further discussion.
Instead, we received insults, accusations, and explanations claiming that using our logo was actually a service to us. We disagree.
Conclusion
SCUM.SK is not a perfect project, and we do not always do everything perfectly either. In this case, we could have sent the rejected applicant a brief response instead of simply discarding his application. That does not change the fact that he failed to meet a basic condition of the offer from the beginning.
Nor does it give anyone the right to use our graphics, cover the project name, and then publicly insult us because we chose someone else for the collaboration.
Competition between SCUM servers is normal and can be beneficial, even though in this case we wanted to unite the Czechoslovak community rather than divide it. Every server should, however, create its own identity and take responsibility for the way it communicates.