G'day, guys! John from SoCal here. And now to address one particular issue. . . .
bigjay wrote: My god people download and repost everyones pics
Very true, but often they do so illegally, in violation of copyright laws. Perhaps. . . . Arista Records doesn't enforce its copyright. But nobody should think that copyright is unenforceable on the internet. Anyone who thinks that it isn't, need only remember three little words:
Kenston. High. School. Sometimes, people have posted pics of KHS athletes to various websites. And these pics are normally taken down as soon as they come to the webmasters' attention. Why? Not because the law (at least here in the U.S.) affords any special protection to high school athletes. It doesn't. If you attend a HS sporting event, and take your OWN pics, you're free to post them anywhere. Without restriction. Whether you agree that this ought to be done, or not. Fact is, it's legal. But it is NOT legal to post pics from the KHS website! Those pics are OWNED by Kenston High School, and they have a reputation for VIGOROUSLY enforcing their copyright.
Fact is, it isn't people who ask that their copyright be respected who threaten boards such as these. It is people who KNOWINGLY post pics which they haven't taken themselves, WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER, who endanger these boards. So, if you want to post a pic taken by, say, Allen, why not just shoot him an email or private message, and request his permission to do so? He might say yes, in which you can post the pic, giving credit to Allen as the original photographer, of course. Then again, he might say no. That's his right. An ENFORCEABLE right under international copyright laws. I can't understand why it is so difficult for certain people to get this! All for now.