AMONG THE ASHES

I hate to be devil’s advocate here but technically Everything belongs to someone else. I mean all the source material for gif’s comes from the CW show or promo material unless it’s from something you personally recorded from a live event. That’s not to say I don’t agree that alterations or changes by someone aren’t relevant, I’ve done my fair share of alterations.  I suppose my point is how are poeple suppose to know when they repost something if the proper credit is on it. Am I suppose to vet every post or just wait for someone to send me a nasty note or just say that I stole it because I reposted it and get my account shut down.

Except that a lot of things are actually free of rights and/or free to alternate. Especially when it’s something about a band, just check Flickr and you will see. As for tv shows and movies, it’s usually tolerated because the producers and makers aren’t stupid: gifsets and edits promote the show! It expands the fandom and it makes the current fans happy because they can share their love for something. More and more actors say that they’re aware of the memes, gifs and fanfics fans create in their honor. It’s an easy and free way to advertise and promote something to a great deal of people. So no, you don’t have to stick to things you have personnaly recorded or photographed. You just have to take a few seconds to make sure the material you’re about to use to create something is free of rights. And you can also contact the original artist to ask for their permission, chances are they will accept because you were polite and respectful.  I know you weren’t saying it like that, but your arguments are the ones most reposters use to justify their stealing. Truth is, they’re just lazy people who want notes, followers and recognition but won’t work for those things (not the ones who reposted by mistake, of course!). Making sure you can alternate something and finding out if you have to give credits to the original artist isn’t complicated at all. Actually, it takes less time than to browse the internet, download an image, right click it to save it, connect to Tumblr and create a post. And while we’re at it, reblogging and liking the original posts made by Tumblr users is also faster and easier than reposting.  TL;DR: for original material, use things that are free of rights. For things coming from Tumblr, watermarks exist for a reason and so does Google reverse search! Knowing your rights to claim something as your own isn’t difficult at all.

Stumbled upon this post as it's doing the rounds again and felt petty so: how are you liking having almost no one left in this fandom but reposters and AI bullshit? People did warn you. Kudos to those who still have the heart to spend hours creating things only for some asshole to claim it as their own and get way more notes.