Gather has listened and the thief is gone!!!!

I want to share the following email I received from MaryAnne today:

 Hi Sue,
I wanted to make sure you saw the update I have left on your most recent article. I'm including a copy of it below.

Thanks for all your efforts in this situation.

Best regards,
MaryAnne
Director of Member Support

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 memberâ€^TMs account on a first offense. Based on community input regarding the egregious copyright violation of a member, and our further investigation of the offending memberâ€^TMs 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 anotherâ€^TMs 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.

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Thank you, MaryAnne and Gather,  for listening to us and responding appropriately!!!

We look forward to the implementation of additional safeguards by your technical dept.

Sue