Frequently Asked Questions

General

What do the icons represent?

	Watch artist/Add image to Favorites folder.
	Remove artist from watched/Remove image from Favorites folder.
	Block artist or gallery. Hides thumbnails of the artist or gallery across the whole site.
	Artist is offering commissions, click to see.
	Artist is offering prints, click to see.
	Artist is offering the original, click to buy.

What happens when I flag an image for review?

When an image is flagged, it gets listed on our content review staff's administration page. If the reason seems like a valid one, such as blood or a suggestive scene in a G picture, we will bump up the rating without notification to the artist. If we are unsure if the flag is necessary, we keep it around to see if more people flag it. This creates a community standard of sorts. If an image has multiple flags, we will take action on it of some sort. An artist will be notified if any of their images are removed with the reasons why.

Having an image bumped up in rating or removed is not a bad mark against an artist. We just consider it adjusting and getting familiar with the community.

How do I get a journal on my gallery page?

First, go into your account settings (either click the “Settings” tab under “My Home” or click on your name in the top-right of any page). Choose “Personal”. Put your blog/journal URL in the field labeled “Blog Link” then save.

That's it, your journal should now appear on your front gallery page. If you categorize your entries, you can filter which ones appear by putting the categories in the “Filter Blog by Categories/Tags” field below the blog link one. (e.g. "art, animation, movies")

I tried to do something, but got a page that says “Sacré Bleu!” What happened?

You have run into a bug! Something happened that caused an error on the server. While we do our best to test our code in multiple ways, sometimes a bug slips through.

When that happens, we are automatically sent an email notifying us of the error with the associated data so that we can work on fixing the cause so it does not happen again. If you have any further questions involving the error or it is of a critical nature, you can send a note to us through our Helpdesk.

Favorites and Folders

What are the stars in the folders for?
I would not favorite something if it was one or two stars, why not just include these on each picture on the whole site?

The star rating system is purely for personal use in sorting images in your folders. There are times where you have a favorite image, but it may not be as favorite as another, and so on. Also, when another user looks at your favorites, the ones with the higher star ratings will appear first.

Do the star ratings affect the popularity of an image?

No, they do not. They are purely for personal ranking of favorite images, and are deleted when a favorite image is removed.

Print Service

Where can I find more information on prints, like pricing?

Here!

Copyright and "Art Theft"

What is your policy on copyright infringement, or “art theft?”

In short, we do not endorse or tolerate copyright violations. Any art that is traced or copied noticeably from an original, copyrighted work is considered a violation. Some places allow this as long as credit is given to the original artist. Here, it is at the original artist's discretion whether or not they allow a copied work to persist.

When determining if a piece of art constitutes an infringement, we look at the current U.S. law regarding copyright and fair use.

According to the Legal Guide for the Visual Artist, "…the test for copyright infringement is twofold: (1) proof of access by the infringer to the work alleged to be infringed must be shown (or, if the similarity between the two works is great enough, this access can be inferred); and (2) the jury must conclude that an ordinary observer would believe one work is indeed copied from another."¹

Fair use is defined by four criteria: (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether or not it is for profit; (2) the character of the copyrighted work; (3) how much of the total work is used in the course of the use; and (4) what effect the use will have on the market or value of the copyrighted work.

Some people may claim that the original art does not have much, well, originality in its composition. For this we refer primarily to the 1992 U.S. Second Circuit court case of Rogers vs. Koons. The contention was a copyrighted postcard photograph made into a sculpture. (Do a search for "String of Puppies" on Google Images.) In the case, it was stated "the quantity of originality that need to be shown is modest—only a dash of it will do." And, "No copier may defend the act of plagiarism by pointing out how much of the copy he has not pirated."¹

¹Crawford, Tad. Legal Guide for the Visual Artist. 2001 Allworth Press, New York.

Does copying an idea constitute copyright infringement?

No. An idea being copied does not constitute copyright infringement. It is the execution of that idea in a piece of art which is examined.

What is the process for reporting copyright infringement?

First, the one reporting it must be the owner of the original image. We will ignore requests by third parties claiming that two pieces are similar or that one infringes on an other. We must hear from the original artist.

Second, if you feel a piece of yours has been infringed upon, contact us via our helpdesk. Be sure to have the original ready to display upon request.

What if I feel that my work was unfairly marked as copied?

You can respond to the original notifying email if you want further clarification of the decision. We will listen to both sides, but err on the side of caution. We will also not mediate between artists—any direct copyright disputes must be handled off-site.

Where does fan art fall under this?

Fan art is of a tenuous nature. As long as it is not sold and used for profit there is little that can be done, especially if it falls under parody and fair use. Some companies even encourage works by fans. We allow artists to post a small amount of fan art. Further clarification can be found in our rules.