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Post by Admin on Feb 17, 2009 22:06:04 GMT -5
Respect copyright. If you wrote it (or photographed it, drew it, or recorded it), you can display it here. If you didn't, you need to get the written permission of the creator before you can re-post it. If you have pictures of your own you would like to post on Stepping Out of Squalor, you can either use an image hosting account like Photobucket or flickr, or your own website. (Just make sure there isn't anything that would be personally identifiable within the account itself, like your real name.) You can also upload a small number of photos from your hard drive by using the attachment feature. Please note that you cannot delete anything that you upload using this method without going through the mods, and that there is limited storage for attachments which means some files may be unexpectedly purged at a later date. Don't hotlink. This is putting image tags ([img] and [/img]) around an image URL from another website that you don't have permission to use. Hotlinking is both copyright infringement and bandwidth theft. You are stealing both the image and the host's server space to show their image on another website. If there's an image on another site that you want people to see, put a link to that site or that image. Surround the link with URL link codes instead ([url] and [/url]). Copyright violations can get us shut down, according to ProBoards.com's Terms of Service. We really don't want that to happen. Please check the terms of use with the original site. If permission is given to re-post their material, say so. If not, please edit your post to conform with the rules. If you can't tell whether permission is given to copy something from elsewhere, assume that it isn't. Link to it instead ([url] and [/url]). Images contributed by members on this website may not be used without their permission. If you want to use a member's image, please either contact the member directly, or send an email to the mods at tosaatadmins@gmail.com. Thank you. |
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Post by Script on Jun 3, 2010 13:42:40 GMT -5
Dear friends:
*It has come to the attention of the moderators that some of our avatars MAY be copyright violations
*The mods do not have the time, interest or inclination to check everyone's avatars
*While many people use pictures of self, kids, pets --- even something as seemingly innocuous as a picture of a flower may very well be copyrighted
*this is one area where the mods simply cannot police the board. Regularly going through 1000 avatar/signature images is beyond the mods' abilities. We're trusting you to abide by the rules you agreed to when you signed up for the board. However, if we get a complaint from the copyright holder or ProBoards, we'll remove the image immediately to keep from violating TOS.
* Directly linking to a picture you don't have permission to use (hotlinking) is also against TOS and could get your account deleted by ProBoards. If we happen to come across it, we will break the link to keep everyone in the clear.
with respect and affection to all reading and posting here,
luv from Script on behalf of the moderators
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Post by success19 on Jun 7, 2010 12:31:47 GMT -5
I have a suggestion - could there be avatars added to the profile list for us to use? I am not that computer savvey to even know where to go and look online for them and put them on my profile anyway - there seem to be very few available here for us to use. Or if someone wants to tell me where to find free ones online and explain how to copy and paste them - that would be great too. Personally I have either not been using one or using the ones here for free - but there are only like 15 listed here.
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Post by clutterfree on Jun 7, 2010 15:05:26 GMT -5
Most likely none of the icons or avatars are copyright violations, because they fall under fair use.
If making a non-competitive, non-profit-making, non-commercially-distributed icon with a copyrighted character, phrase or image was really a problem and didn't fall under fair use, Livejournal, MySpace, Facebook, InsaneJournal, etc. would all be out of business because the lawsuits would reach into the millions. It's not worth worrying about or policing.
(Having said that, if a copyright holder complained, then you'd remove it out of respect that they want it removed, of course, regardless of the fair use stipulations.)
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Post by eagle on Jun 8, 2010 7:46:31 GMT -5
Success19, there are some threads (well at least one) in the technical forum which has some instruction about how to create personal avatars. I'd have to look for it to call it to your attention. Just about any photo you may have taken can be turned into an avatar, so you might want to think about one of your favorite photos as you avatar. I'll see if I can pull it/them up and sticky it/them for a week or so to give you the opportunity to try and create your own personally designed avatar.
Clutterfree, I have learned through personal experience that it takes constant vigilience on the part of the copyright owner to enforce copyright of their property. BUT that some are constantly vigilent and will sue anyone and everybody who chooses to ignore the copyright of their material. We can say 'fair use' all we want, but copyright is copyright and lawsuits are not fun. Regardless, preventing Loss of our boards is the issue here.
Proboards Terms of Service (TOS) is what we have to abide by and copyright violations are a violation of the Proboards TOS. Each and everyone of us agreed to abide by the TOS, or we would not be members here. So each and every one of us is responsible to protect Stepping Out of Squalor from being removed for any member's violations of TOS. The mods are merely a branch of that protection. We alone cannot do it all. We rely on all of you to abide by the TOS as set forth by Proboards. Some of you are vigilent. Some of you are less so. We are merely reminding everyone that there are rules and they must be followed to protect our longevity.
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Post by sparkle on Jun 12, 2010 1:25:34 GMT -5
Hi script. I quite understand your concerns. I certainly didn't take the photo of the desert tortoise, my slow and steady avatar, and I tried to track down where I found it to no avail. I rather doubt it is copyrighted. Hope this helps show the Proboards that we take this seriously.
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Post by Serendipity on Jun 12, 2010 1:33:07 GMT -5
I found some of my fractals at a free avatar site and I emailed the man who ran another site and asked for his permission. I found the process of getting the avatar to show up took alot of time. I used little_ninja's directions for smileys to guide me. Thx little ninja!
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kiz
New Member
Joined: June 2009
Posts: 86 
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Post by kiz on Jun 12, 2010 4:54:14 GMT -5
Hi script. I quite understand your concerns. I certainly didn't take the photo of the desert tortoise, my slow and steady avatar, and I tried to track down where I found it to no avail. I rather doubt it is copyrighted. Hope this helps show the Proboards that we take this seriously. I'm betting my bottom dollar it is copyrighted. All images, all photographs, under UK, US and Australian law at least, are automatically copyrighted to the creator of that image. Unless an image is specifically made open source under some kind of creative commons deal or some such, or is quite old and copyright has expired (such as the Mona Lisa) so it is now in the public domain, it is copyrighted. It's not so much "I doubt it is copyrighted" (unless the photographer has specifically stated that it is NOT, then it is), but more of a case of "I doubt the photographer would sue me for it". As someone else suggested you may be able to get away with a "fair use" argument, but that would not mean it was not copyrighted. |
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Post by sparkle on Jun 12, 2010 11:40:41 GMT -5
Thanks kiz. I'll look into this some more. I got it by googling something like "desert tortoise" and looking at images. Haven't been able to find it again. I've noticed that many of these images are not copyrighted and assumed this was the case here. However, it appears from what you say that I was wrong. I'll remove it.
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Post by dieverdog on Jun 13, 2010 9:24:10 GMT -5
There are loads of free images to be found online - look up (I use Dogpile.com, but you can Google if you like) "royalty free images" or "copyright free images" and see what links come up. PhotoXpress.com allows you free images if you sign up and then you can search their site - but you would need to be able to alter the image to make it small for use as an icon. One thing I do know... Disney is the most active at going after copyright infringements... so best to avoid all Disney characters (which are very cute and tempting to use). Disney went after a church that hand painted Disney characters on their windows that's how strict they are - seems a bit unreasonable to me. If you are only using your avatar on these boards it's not likely to be seen but who knows what a search on the internet will turn up and some artists/photographers are really trying hard to protect their livelyhoods in these tough times.
If anyone needs help alterating an image I'd be willing to help or offer advice - I work in Graphic Design and know something of the ins-and-outs of that type of thing.
Pam/aka Dieverdog
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kiz
New Member
Joined: June 2009
Posts: 86
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Post by kiz on Jun 13, 2010 20:16:37 GMT -5
Thanks kiz. I'll look into this some more. I got it by googling something like "desert tortoise" and looking at images. Haven't been able to find it again. I've noticed that many of these images are not copyrighted and assumed this was the case here. However, it appears from what you say that I was wrong. I'll remove it. Oh, I wasn't saying to remove it. Just wanted to point out a possible misconception that photos are not copyrighted unless stated otherwise. It is always the other way around, unless something is specifically stated as being "free" or whatnot, it is automatically copyrighted on creation. *Is a photographer and artist, and it pays for me to know this as law* I know if I found someone using one of my automatically copyrighted images as an avatar I would not mind in the least, unless they were implying that they created the image. |
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Post by eagle on Oct 5, 2010 12:36:58 GMT -5
In the course of a mere 24 hours, I have seen 3 glaring copyright violations on our forums, which is alarming because I probably read less than 25% of what is posted here. I simply don't have the time to read everything, and still maintain my home. So at violation #3, it occurred to me that it's time for a reminder to all members to please review the SOS copyright policy, which can be found in the Community Information section. While you are there looking at that policy, now would be a good time to reread the Proboards Terms of Service, by which we all have to abide if we want SOS to remain available to us. Please realize that I am not an attorney and am not the be all and end all when it comes to copyright law, but as an admin here, the welfare of the community is of primary concern. So I am obligated to pay attention to this issue and act upon it when necessary. Some of you want a simple explanation of what is allowed and what is not. I refer you to this article on Wikipedia for more detail. There are several other references you may find if you simply do an internet search, so feel free to Google if you wish to find something written with less detail. Fixed broken link (ProBoards changed the url for their TOS) |
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Post by eagle on Oct 6, 2010 6:35:12 GMT -5
Here is another link regarding quoting documents you find on the web: www.virtualsalt.com/mla.htmIt explains how to quote in MLA style, which may be required if so noted in the material you wish to quote. See the article for more detail. |
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