i am not the kind of person to make grand statements or get involved in usual tumblr douchebaggery, but today i feel that i have to. for the past two days i've seen a fellow tumblr user, someone who i follow and consider a friend and love to see on my dash, be attacked and treated in such a foul way by some users and anonymous messages, called all sort of things, basically being bullied over the stupidest thing, and it's ridiculous to see - and i cannot even imagine being in her shoes under all that uncalled for hate. throughout all this though, i've seen her stand her ground and even stay polite (it beats me how she could even manage that, it speaks volumes on how great she is because if it were me nobody could stop me from spitting as much hate back) in her replies to the ones being awful to her.
and all this, because she made a manip of two actors - and it was used and reposted without her permission, to which she reacted by saying it bothered her - and then moved on, because like all of you out there who take time out of your lives to make anything in photoshop know, there isn't really much you can do in that situation, and the little action you can take sometimes goes unnoticed, so right now i'm going to address the arguments those users and anonymous messages used to back up their insults, so they could get away with reposting work that was not theirs. here's an example:
"HOW ABOUT YOU GIVE THE CREDIT TO THE PHOTOGRAPHER. YOU DIDNT TAKE THE PICTURE(S) THEY ARE NOT YOURS YOU DONT OWN THEM EVEN IF YOU EDIT THEM. YOU PLAY ON PHOTOSHOP AS A HOBBY. YOU ARE NOT AN ARTIST OR A PHOTOGRAPHER. YOU HAVE NO LIFE IF YOU ARE GETTING SO UPSET ABOUT SOMETHING SO STUPID. YOU ARE A HYPOCRITE AND A FAKE. SHUT THE FUCK UP AND GET A LIFE DUMBASS."
so i'm gonna break this shit down, and explain to you why this entire message is unnecessary/wrong.
"HOW ABOUT YOU GIVE THE CREDIT TO THE PHOTOGRAPHER. YOU DIDNT TAKE THE PICTURE(S) THEY ARE NOT YOURS YOU DONT OWN THEM EVEN IF YOU EDIT THEM."
first of all, none of this justifies for you to be rude/mean. you could have a different opinion in the subject at hand (can people who make edits get upset over their stuff being reposted?) and state so, but there is no actual reason for you to belittle somebody in this way. especially when said somebody was never rude when addressing the situation.
and then there is the rest. so now i'm going to tell you about the fair use doctrine (under general u.s. law) - which is directly involved with copyright law. now i'm no expert, but you can easily find out about all this stuff with just google and a few clicks.
what is fair use? fair use is a doctrine that allows the limited use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the actual rights holders. this does not mean that anyone who borrows work from somebody else for a purpose without permission gets a free pass, no - because then why would copyright exist at all, but it is used in court if you are challenged by somebody else whose work is being used, so you won't get sued for millions of dollars, if you never asked permission for it. what they consider when analyzing these situations, is as follows:
What is the character of the use?
What is the nature of the work to be used?
How much of the work will you use?
What effect would this use have on the market for the original or for permissions if the use were widespread?
so now we're going to apply it to this specific situation, and tumblr in general. the most important thing to note (which is the first one they would touch in a court) in this case is: nobody who makes edits on tumblr, based on someone else's work, gets profit from it. nobody. it is simply a way for users to share/use their talents on the things they like - to participate in their fanbases, to enjoy themselves on the platform that is tumblr.
under those questions, it works like this: the less commercial the use, the smaller the portion used, the lesser the import of that portion of the work to the whole, and the lesser the effect on the market for or value of the work, the more likely it will be that fair use doctrine will apply.
so specifically: there is NO commercial use, therefore it will not affect the market or value of the work (in this case, the photograph taken by the photographer), so no anon, she doesn't own the pictures but the credit is not required, because she is not using the work to profit from it. you could add a disclaimer in your blog stating so if you wanted, but it's implied, else no one in tumblr could make ANYTHING - gifs, edits, NONE OF IT. so this is why half your complaints are unnecessary. now to the next part:
"YOU PLAY ON PHOTOSHOP AS A HOBBY. YOU ARE NOT AN ARTIST OR A PHOTOGRAPHER. "
since i'm guessing you are probably not qualified to determine what counts as artistry or not, i'm just going to ignore this. but i will say, a hobby? sure. but hobbies take time. time people use out of their free, leisure moments. and it's somebody's choice you don't get to say shit about. you don't get to say how someone has to spend their time, or how it's good or not they're spending it that way. if YOU want to use your time to be an asshole on the internet, that is your problem.
"YOU HAVE NO LIFE IF YOU ARE GETTING SO UPSET ABOUT SOMETHING SO STUPID. YOU ARE A HYPOCRITE AND A FAKE. SHUT THE FUCK UP AND GET A LIFE DUMBASS"
like i said before, you don't get a say on any of it. she has the fucking right to get upset if she wants to because it's her time, used on her hobby, that you're being fucking disrespecful about. you're part of a community that works because people make edits and gifs and the like, in their own free time, to share with others - the whole premise of tumblr is based on someone posting x and x being reblogged. and in like any other community, besides the official tumblr guidelines, there are certain codes or values people respect and go by. for example, common decency - like not being a douche, and not reposting stuff other people make. so get with the fucking program.
all in all, there is no excuse for you to get away with that. now kindly, get off my friend's case, and stop being such a douche. thanks.
So it's finally your birthday, eh? ;D HAPPY BIRTHDAY dear. I wish you all the best and I hope you'll have a great day. You're a really great 'tumblr-companion' (I just invented this word because I've never heard it before, haha) Anyway, I love seeing you on my dash and enjoy talking to you sometimes :) So again: Have a nice day with the people you love & bye now :) <3
Thank you love <3
And yes I approve of this word, I've been following you for so long now, it's really like we're companions :D
"i never EVER thought i could be sexually attracked to matt smith" gooosh I know what you mean! haha xD
REALLY?! HAHAHAHAHA This is funny cause I thought everyone was sexually attracked to him the moment they saw him for the first time, because they thought he was perfect and all but I didn't. I've never found him handsome or anything I just... well, as I watched more and more Doctor Who episodes of him... I just feel sexually attracked to him. That's all lol
