suggestion: rejected Just an Idea

[Serlina]

So I was chatting to NeppyNepNep a couple of days ago when I was putting together my Creative thread with my signatures and wallpapers, it came to me that it would be so awesome if ED had an option where you could Watermark your work!

 

You would be able to, as an example, tick a box to Watermark your image with your Username to prevent people out with ED stealing your image and using it as their own!

 

I don't know if this is something that ED would want to do or could even make it happen but I just thought I would mention it, it was just a thought that came to me while I was working away with PS. :)

[SMFoxy]

I don't know if it would be possible to do this via ED to start with. If it was, I don't believe I'd agree for the following reason:

 

If this were possible, it would make it incredibly easy for less honest people to take credit for other peoples work. While I would love to believe that people as a whole are better than that, sadly it's been known to happen all over the internet. It's becoming a lot easier to check thanks to the relatively new image search function provided by Google though.

 

There may even be cases in which people simply forget to uncheck the box, accidentally watermarking images they didn't intend to, an action which may well be misconstrued by the original artists and get ED in trouble.

 

With that said, the inclusion of a username tends to discourage most people from 'stealing' your work, due to them more than likely having a completely different username. Of course there are the odd instances where usernames may be identical, but this is pretty rare. Though there are people who may claim they made them for that user on a different site, which can be a difficult claim to substantiate.

 

I can fully understand wanting to watermark your original [or semi original, since the source material has to come from somewhere] work, however, it's my opinion that it'd be easier, quicker, and less 'risky' to simply watermark your image while you're using your image editing software anyway. I know a lot of artists create a 'universal' watermark, which they save to their computer and simply layer it over their work when it's finished. If you know you're going to be marking a lot of images, I'd certainly recommend this option. It keeps your watermarks consistent over separate images.

 

Feel free, of course, to disagree with any points I've raised, but I ultimately stand by my original point of doubting it's possible in the first place, I'm afraid.

[Serlina]

Sorry in advance if I make no sense in the following.

 

While your argument is valid that kind of thing happens daily, not only on the internet, but in books and newspapers as well.  Taking credit for a piece of art that isn't yours has happened probably for as long as art has been around, the added effect of watermark I know may seem redundant and it possibly is.  Your given the option here on ED, when uploading an image, to copy right it in a sense.  Most of the images I have posted up I have put Serlina, keep in mind these are character images, now NeppyNepNep would tell you that I can't draw.  I've told her this, I know this to be true in myself, however although I have not DRAWN the image I feel the image is mine as the image is being used to provide an image of what my character looks like.  Now I 9/10 do not know who drew the image, I should begin to do background research on the images I use, when I copy right them I don't mean to insinuate that I drew the picture I mean to inform people that this image is being used by me to provide a more detailed image of the character.  The reason I thought of watermarking being an idea for ED was because I don't HAVE a saved watermark, I don't LIKE putting watermarks on my work so why would I go out of my way to have one saved on my laptop?  That's why I like the feature on DA it allows you to watermark an image if you so wish, giving you the freedom of not having duplicates of one piece of art on your machine, as I now have some duplicates on my machine from the wallpapers I put up.  I can obviously delete these or move them.

 

I'm pretty sure the above a) makes no sense what so ever and b) did not in any way/shape/form answer your valid reason.  Apologies for that.

[SMFoxy]

The reason I thought of watermarking being an idea for ED was because I don't HAVE a saved watermark, I don't LIKE putting watermarks on my work so why would I go out of my way to have one saved on my laptop?  That's why I like the feature on DA it allows you to watermark an image if you so wish, giving you the freedom of not having duplicates of one piece of art on your machine, as I now have some duplicates on my machine from the wallpapers I put up.  I can obviously delete these or move them.

 

I mean no offence by this post, but I'll be frank:

 

If you don't like putting watermarks on your work, then why would you want the option to? That seems just a tad redundant to me.

And if you do want watermarks on your work, then why shouldn't it be your own? You say you don't have a watermark saved, so the remedy to that situation is to just make one, right?

 

At the same time, you'd have the exact same choice on your computer as you do on ED or dA. That is, to watermark or not to watermark.

On top of this, the watermarks that dA put on their work are the dA site/logo, and that would be the only option that ED would allow too. They would't be your personal watermark. If I made something, I'd want my stamp on it, not the stamp of the site it was uploaded to. But that's my personal opinion.

Lastly, there would be a potential issue with the original artists also. If they don't like the fact that their image has been used, they may ask for it to be taken down. Not that I'm trying to get you in trouble, but if we assume you put your name on it, or your watermark, the one the artists will 'complain' to is you. If the watermark is one belonging to a site, the 'blame' may well fall on the owner or administrator of that site. So we're covering our own arses too. xD

 

I'm sorry if I seem rude, but you're fully capable of doing everything that you're asking us to do for you, so why should we do it?

That is a genuine question by the way, to make you think about it, not because I want to be a dick about it.