Update: Our efforts are making an impact on the Gather Thief!

Thanks for the update! I'm glad there's some headway being made!

Great job!

yea...but a couple of other 'members" were outed at the same time, Sue, then people threatened to leave in DROVES...some DID leave....I say, STAY and FIGHT, PEOPLE!!

Thanks for the update!

I am glad to hear that the problem is being resolved.

In my opinion this person should be banned from both Gather and Zazzle for good.

goood!!

thanks for rhe update,

penni d- I'm sorry to hear that some members have decided to leave. I wish they would have been patient, as if we ban together and fight thru this the result will be a safer environment for ALL here on Gather!

I wish gather would round up the rest of the slime bags and have a mass eviction.
People are STILL posting stolen net photos as their own, and while this is a small victory to celebrate, the conflict isn't over :|
One down, a frillion to go

THANK YOU for your efforts!

wow, way to go everyone I have to applauded those who have been getting rid of this problem.

Its always nice to see the bad guy get whats coming to him/her!

Wow - well, I am soooo glad that this person is getting his/her due! I'm not leaving - Gather is too much fun and yes, I will go after anyone who uses my photos for any reason - they are all catalogued and copyrighted - even the ones of me - lol...Good work Sue M. Thank you very much for what you are doing for everyone of us who post original pictures!!! Salud.

I so glad they are dealing with this problem and even glader you are staying on Gether

Please note that this has not been my efforts alone... there are several other Gather members working on this! This is a group effort and I very much appreciate all efforts being made!!! Thanks guys!!

Wow...I'm pretty amazed at this as there have been others that have stolen images, and even poetry in the past and people couldn't seem to stop them. I guess the fact that she was trying to make a profit really got things going. Good job!

It is great to make progress like this. Thanks for the update.

good..glad to see justice at work..and i agree with Heather W up there..
still plenty of fraud on the boards...
very happy for the continued positive outcome ,Sue...

Thanks, Reena! :)

Thanks for the update!

It is Great for taking positive steps to promote change....Thanks Everyone, and especially you, Sue for sticking to your guns and pursuing! I do hope that Gather will ban this individual as that is the Right Thing to do. I want to see Gather make changes to protect our images and writings with a No Right Click feature as a bit of a deterrant....anything is better than nothing!

UP-DATE!!! The account of the thief is now 0000'd out!

Excellent news! Thanks to Gather for responding, and to everyone who is working on this. And to you, Sue... you have lost a lot of sleep over this, I know.

Thanks for the Update, Moh!!! HORRAY... the thief is GONE!!

Yay they're gone! Hopefully gather bans their isp so they cant create another account!

We have reviewed our procedures for violations to the Terms of Service and want to update you all on our decision regarding the recent copyright offense of a member. In the past, our practice has been to give members the benefit of the doubt, educate them regarding the TOS and Guidelines and give them an opportunity to correct their actions on site. We have rarely closed a member's account on a first offense. Based on community input regarding the egregious copyright violation of a member, and our further investigation of the offending member's account, the account has been closed on Gather.



Closing the account of a member is done only after careful consideration; it is not done lightly or as an emotional reaction to a situation.



We have also heard the suggestions of members asking us to review our technology in hopes that images can be made more difficult to copy. This is something we are raising to our Product Board. As you know, if someone is determined to steal another's online content, this can be done. However, if there are steps we can add to the site to make this more difficult to accomplish, this certainly sounds like something to consider. In the meantime, I am repeating steps that all members who publish images should consider following:


1. Place a Digital Watermark and/or Signature on your image(s)
This will definitely accredit the image(s) to you. However, it's important to note that watermarks can be cropped out of photos and even removed with imaging software.
2. List your copyright on every page of your published content
Although this action won't necessarily stop individuals from lifting your images, it will inform people that you are organized and your work is cataloged.
3. Share only small, low resolution images
This way, if the images are blown up or re-edited they will appear pixilated and ultimately un-viewable.
4. Make your images private or available to only select groups or people.
By limiting the exposure of your images to only people you know and trust, the likelihood that your content will be stolen is greatly minimized.

Yippee! and I will dumb down every photo I post.

Sue this is great news, - thank God something is being done with regard to this very serious crime, yes stealing its a crime. Thanks for the update and so happy to see action is being taken against the 'criminal'!!

Thanks for the update Mary Ann. I do have one comment to your last one, though. This person was one with whom Sue had had previous positive communications on several issues. I'm sure, had Sue been limiting the exposure of her images to only the people she knew, this person would have been among them.

Who can really "know" ANYONE on the internet - unless you also happen to know them in real life? And those people are sick of looking at my pictures by now anyway! LOL!

A tremendous HUGE thank you from me, MaryAnne! I appreciate you listening and investigating this matter and taking the appropriate steps as a result. The end result, I believe, will be a better and safer environment here on Gather for people to share their content without fear of being violated. We look foward to seeing the steps you will now take to make that safer environment possible. Thank you again!!!

MaryAnne. . . the community needs some sort of wall of shame in place, a place that lists known copyright violators, image thieves, net photo slum lords and types of that nature so people know NOT To connect to these people.
I think it is sad that any article outing a person like that is immediately flagged for harassment. Like it has been said before, it isn't harassment if it is true. and if they don't want to be harassed maybe they should NOT take other people's work.
There needs to be a system in place for when community members have overwhelming proof that certain members are thieves and plagiarists, that gather will take action to remove them. . .or allow a good old fashioned shunning.

And Mary Ann, I don't think any of us expect "fool proof". Just a bit more difficult would be sufficient.

And when we tell you someone is posting all pirated work, LISTEN TO US!!! It's for your good as well as ours to do so.

thx for update............................... :O)

Amen to that, Moh! Thanks for your suport and efforts in this!

This is certainly good news! And I hope Gather's Product Board comes up with some useful solutions to an ongoing problem. As Moh says, "more difficult" is better than the current situation. And bear in mind that even minor difficulty stops a lot of thieves early on in the process.

As for the people who constantly post non-original content as their own... I think it's important to carry out a consistent, 2-step campaign: report immediately and DO NOT comment on the article/photo/video. No need to give them points and reward them for their theft. As for Heather's idea of a Wall of Shame, given Gather's attitude, I doubt that'll ever happen.

Thanks for posting this to Best original Photos, Art and Writing for 2008.

Thanks so much for the update MaryAnne! It is great to see that Gather has taken member concerns seriously and acted on our behalf. As a Gather member I really appreciate the effort and time you have invested in the process. A sound decision. :)

Oops! I hit the post button before I was done. First and foremost, kudos for Sue to sticking with it to the very last. Granted it was her content that was stolen, still it took a lot to keep going in the face of the lack of response at the beginning of all this. What you've done, Sue, will make it easier for others who find their content shanghaied in the future. Thanks!

Thanks, Roy! I stuck with it for the better good of the entire Gather community that I have grown to love!!

Yes, THANK YOU SUE!!!

And what Roy said about the two-step process is good. Also, don't rate the picture, either, as I believe they get points for that, too. It's so tempting to toss a 1 or anegativne comment on something you see that you know is pirated, but it's better off not to.

There aren't points for pings, though, so maybe that's a route we can take to at least try to educate or voice our concerns for pirated material. Something like, "I saw the photo you posted here (insert link) and was wondering if you took it or if someone else did." Then go from there depending on what the response is.....

Good idea, Moh!

Great idea Moh! No points are gained from pings!
Roy i know my idea will never happen, but in my own happy world public shaming is still a viable option LOL
I am just glad at least one thief is gone

And, Heather, they're also a little more public than email, so the person "pinged" can't hide quite as easily. Of course they can also be deleted, and the person pinged can then choose to retalliate by dropping the "1 bomb" on the other person's work, but.... It's still probably better than doing nothing.

True communities have standards of acceptable behavior. If the community does not speak out, those standards will naturally erode to the lowest common denominator. While the Gather management has its responsibility in this, so do the members.

Thank YOU, Sue.

I can't believe someone would take other people's work and use it for their own profit.
I'm so glad you caught them and Gather (and I take it Zazzle too) have the situation
under control now. Thanks for the info.

This is really good news!

This is really wonderful news Sue!! I am very happy...I know that a lot of people got really worried there for a minute!! I think some people even left the site. I love it here too much to leave, and I guess that I am jut too trusting wehen it comes to my photos. I had the watermarking program in my old computer, but never ended up using it...I will have to try to find that program again. I still think that it discourages SOME people from stealing, (Of course as we all saw here, not all though!) This is a wonderful outcome to a very crappy situation, and I applaude Gather, (and you too Sue!!)

That's just amazing that all of the person's picturew were stolen! Unbelievable.

I don't know how people tracked down the original owners of the pictures.

I've noticed people posting pictures from Photobucket. I don't comment on those at all. Some people list that they got the picture from another source but many don't.

Thank you Sue, I also want to Thank Gather, no system is perfect, but it can be improved. I am grateful for all those, that helped in resolving this issue, and I look forward to any new policy's or technology, that Gather can implement in the future.

Great work for all involved. It sickens me that they tried to profit off other's work. I only hope they did not manage any sales of these items prior to them being removed.

Great progress Sue!

This is good news.

Moh, I kinda like your ping idea. Maybe I'll try it on those who are posting images and articles as their own - when they are obviously not.

I'm glad that gather is finally doing something about this, thanks for the update!

I knew no one owned that many pets, lol.

I'm just curious as to why a person who had stolen a bunch of photos from people on Gather and specifically you, Sue, would post a link to her page at that Zazzle place?!?! What was she thinking? Had she not done that, no one would have ever known. Makes you wonder how many other people have stolen images and are profitting from them and are just a lot smarter about it!!

It's good to hear that something is being done about this! Thanks so much for keeping us all informed.

I am so glad that action has been taken! YES!!!!!!!!!

If the art thief thought she could make money selling your photos on zazzle, maybe you should now consider selling them yourself!

Good going, Sue... thanks for the update.

Somehow I missed out on all the drama. I'm glad to hear that things are being done to fix the situation.

I missed all the problems as well. But am searching the site for any of my pics. Thank you!

This all happened while I was away, Sue but thanks for your perseverance on this matter. I wonder if any of my photos were stolen?

I do not know who this person is, but they must be either really stupid or really brazen (or perhaps both) not only to steal other people's work and try to profit from it but also to use a stolen image as their Gather icon!