Introduction

This article was prompted by recent events, namely the flurry of notes and comments after the Photomanip Challenges in #ManipulatedReality on June 22nd. Apart from those that wanted to express how much fun it had been, there were quite some concerns voiced.

One of them was from the stock artists:
“Thank you for choosing my stock for this event, but a note would’ve been nice - you see, so many used it but didn’t credit me properly.”

Another was from a manipulator:
“I didn’t know what "proper credit" meant, so I just did what I thought was okay – and promptly got a very angry comment about it from the stock artist. It’s not my fault, I just didn’t know, but they were so mean nevertheless – couldn’t you have told us that each stocker has their own rules I need to follow?”

And the last thing I got to hear was:
“I saw a pretty nasty comment from a stocker under one of the entries – they could’ve just said that nicely and cut the newbie some slack. I know whose stock I’m not going to be using in the future!”


"Proper credit" – what does that mean anyway?

If you use other people’s stock, you need to follow the rules* laid out by them. Those rules can be found either under the deviation itself or in the stock artist’s journal.

Usually, they include giving credit as well as linking back to the stock account – using :devnameofstocker: would do both of that nicely. Another rule you will encounter frequently is to let them know you used it, which is understandable, seen as they give you pictures for free.

Please note that no matter if the stock artist actively requires you to credit them or not, it is deviantArt’s policy that if you use pictures that are not your own, you need to state the source in the artist’s comment. The reason for that is simple: you should never make people believe you did more than you actually did; it’s misleading and just not right.

Why do they do stock?

Stockers have reasons to do what they do. They usually don’t just upload the stuff they don’t need for themselves or have lying around and then forget about it. They put time and effort into taking the pictures and uploading them – some even give you their faces and bodies to work with.

And all most of them want is that other people will be able to find their stock when they look at your photomanip ( link back!), that other will see that effort and acknowledge it ( credit the source!) and that you take the time to drop them a note or comment so they can take a look ( give them a link to your manip!).

With that in mind, it is quite understandable that they get upset on occasion if they encounter photomanipulators that don’t credit them or don’t link back etc. – especially if they are new themselves! (Yes, that “cut newbies some slack”-sentence works both ways!)

Please stay calm

However, there is always a polite way of doing things and a rude one. Trust me, the polite one will get you what you want more easily and without making everyone feel upset – because believe it or not, most of the photomanipulators that don’t give proper credit are not out to get you or did this out of malice. Mostly, they are just new and don’t know better.

Therefore, please, stay calm and don’t comment on the deviation itself. The comment will still be there when the problem has been corrected (no one likes hiding them either). Instead, send a note. But leave the sledge hammer in the garage, will you? You could for example tell them that you like what they’ve created and thank them for using your stock and then gently poke them about the credits.

Try to explain your reasoning; don’t just link them to your rules. You can even link them to this article. Just remember: most photomanipulators will correct their mistake and not make the same one twice if you keep your calm. If you slap them with your rules, you will make them go defensive and while they will probably change their artist’s comment, they will do so while being angry at you.

The “I’m new bonus” & where to ask for help if things get ugly

As I already mentioned, there are always people on this site who are new: new to stock, new to manips, new to the whole site. I firmly believe that if we want to be the community everyone is always so proud of, we need to cut them some slack and explain the issue rather than judge them and storm off in a rage.

However, if you find that someone cannot be reasoned with, you should distance yourself from that deviant and let others handle it from there. deviantArt has a wonderful Copyright & Etiquette team (short CEA), who you can turn to by using the “report violation” button or the Help Desk’s contact form.

While these people are trained to deal with copyright infringements (breaking your rules is one) and harassment cases, I strongly suggest you don’t use them lightly: they need proof in any case and will act accordingly – they will not nudge the manipulator for you. Instead, they will delete their deviation if they did not follow your rules.

Sensible Rules

Also, please be advised to keep your stock rules sensible.
For example, requiring the photomanipulator to link back to you is a sensible request, trying to tell them how exactly they should be doing that (with your name, with your icon, to your userpage, to the stock pic,… ) might be overkill.

Both sides will get frustrated: the stocker will see the artist’s comment thinking “they never read” and the manipulator will most like go “oh geez, nitpicking much?” when he hears about the request to change their links.

For future Photomanip Challenges

We will keep an eye out in the future to not use stock submitted to stock clubs, so there will not be confusion about that (especially in the hurry of a 2 hour challenge, things like that tend to be overlooked by manipulators).

*ManipulatedReality will not send out notes to those stockers whose stock is used for challenges. If you do not wish your stock to be used, please note this in your rules – though frankly, I do not see why you would do that: as soon as you put your pictures online as stock, there are people who will use them without credit and without telling you they used it at all. Just normally, those deviations are not bunched together in a news article that makes it easy for you to find them. I’m not saying that this is right in any way, because it is not. All I’m saying is that you can never eliminate those that don’t follow your rules, and certainly not by avoiding such challenges/contests.

We will link to this article in the room’s topic, but beyond that it is each photomanipulator’s own responsibility to follow the rules and give proper credit. We can lead a horse to water, but we cannot and will not make it drink.

In Conclusion
In the end, most of this comes down to both sides not understanding what the other side wants or what they put into it. So please, try to talk to one another, don’t just rant and complain.

Stockers don’t just go around snapping pictures, dumping them in a dA account and forgetting about it again – they think about what they can offer next and deserve to be credited and their work deserves acknowledgement!

Photomanipulators don’t just randomly slap pictures together – they think about what they want to say with their art just like any other artist. They put their heart and soul into their creations!

Each side would be in a tight spot without the other. And each side has responsibilities that they have to keep: stockers lay out sensible rules and photomanipulators need to follow them.


Thank you for reading this article, I hope it will help in understanding "the other side" and prevent misunderstandings.
^kuschelirmel



_{*There are more things to consider concerning the rules than I list up there. For example, do you want to use the stock commercially (for web designs that you sell or for flyers/posters etc.) or do you want to use it outside of deviantArt? Sometimes someone doesn’t feel comfortable with certain themes and their rules will ask you to not use their likeness in such manips,… If in doubt, please always contact the stocker and ask.}