Photos with watermark?

1. 83

   mary615posted 8 years ago

   I thought it was against HP's policy for writers to use photos from those sites where the watermark is on the photo.  I see lots of photos I'd like to use, but they would have a watermark.
   I just read a Hub where the author used one of these, and the name of the site shows clearly on the photo.  How did this pass QAP??
   I don't mean to be critical, but would really like to know the answer.

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   1. 92

      Phyllis Doyleposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      From 'The Learning Center':
      
      http://hubpages.com/learningcenter/lega … d_14267020
      
      On HubPages, it is not OK to...
      
          Use an image with a watermark.
      
      (easy to find, click on help, click on Learning Center, first section is about image usage)

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   2. 84

      Jackie Lynnleyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I have being seeing them too; I guess the people just do not know but it does not seem to be hurting them any; have you noticed?

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      1. 92

         Phyllis Doyleposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         I see them quite often. Apparently HP staff is too overwhelmed with all they have taken on that they do not pay attention to many things.

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            WryLiltposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            They've been around for years and Hubpages staff have always said that they rely on community reporting to catch out things like that - they can't possibly moderate every one of the hundreds or thousands of hubs published each day.

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   3. 87

      bravewarriorposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I see it all the time, too, Mary. I also see photos that are not attributed to anyone, let alone properly so. How these hubs pass QAP and become featured is beyond me. Both practices are clearly against not only HP rules, but copyright laws as well. AP admin or whoever sits on the QAP board needs to pay better attention to these violations.

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   4. 90

      Christy Kirwanposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      As Millionaire and WryLilt mention, watermarks are not allowed, though we don't always catch Hubbers using watermarked, copyrighted images. The best thing you can do to help us out is to help educate other Hubbers about correct image use, since (hopefully) all Hubs they create after learning about the rules will be with legal use images.
      
      Though, as Millionaire mentions, images created as part of the HubPro process will contain HubPages watermarks. Also, some Hubbers choose to add a small, unobtrusive watermark with their HubPages username or profile URL on images they own, which we do not moderate for.

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      1. 83

         psycheskinnerposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         So the thread last year centering around a HOTD that had watermarks, where staff said some "not prominent" were in  fact allowed, was either not true then or the policy has changed again?

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         1. 90

            Christy Kirwanposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            No, this is still the case (please see the last sentence of my previous comment).

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2. 89

   Millionaire Tipsposted 8 years ago

   QAP rates the quality of the writing and not really the images.  They don't know all of the rules.  It  usually takes other Hubbers to report these images. Note though, that images created or commissioned by HubPages for HubPro does have the HubPages watermark.

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3. 92

   Jodahposted 8 years ago

   I have seen a lot of hubs recently with watermarked photos. Some are from hubbers I know however and I don't want to point them out here.

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   1. 83

      mary615posted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Jodah, I feel like I should make the Hubber aware of this rule, but I don't say anything.  I try and "mind my own business".  It just irks me that some people use these photos.

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         Jodahposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Yes Mary, I can understand where you are coming from.

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4. 83

   psycheskinnerposted 8 years ago

   About a year ago there was a tread where hubstaff said some marks on photos were okay, they never specified which sort.

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5. 89

   Millionaire Tipsposted 8 years ago

   When people put writing on an image to make it more friendly for pinning on Pinterest and other social media, I think it can be a good thing.  But if people are using images that are watermarked because someone else is trying to protect their copyright, then I will report it when I see it.  I haven't seen a lot of images where the Hubber is trying to protect his/her own copyright, but I wouldn't report that, because I think that should be allowed.

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6. 87

   WryLiltposted 8 years ago

   Hubpages staff have always relied on community moderation to pick up on issues that have been missed. The best thing you can do is to report the hub, which means it will be looked at by a real human moderator. I always report any hubs I see which use pixelated or watermarked images.
   
   The staff have specified that it's fine to use "Made for Pinterest" style images to go with hubs, however.

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