User blog:RemosPendragon/Community project - Images

Hey, I thought I'll write about this, as it came into my mind and I think it would be of great help for the wiki and its community, please comment what you think about it.

Pictures of "real people"
As you propably know, I've been furiously against the custom in this site, that Users use some random images for their characters. Worst of all, some think that it is ok to use celebrities's, actors's and politicians's pictures to depict their own character. I find it absolutely repulsive and let me say why:

Are you ok, if I would write a character and put your picture to depict him/her. I know AbyssalHorror wouldn't mind, as he seems to think it is but an honour if someone finds his picture so appealing that one uses it for one's character. Me, honestly, would be furious of that kind of thing, because I am not okay with people using my picture for their own things.

Other people's art
Same as above, mostly. I can't understand why you use other people's works to depict your characters. See, I don't have a problem with some random fighting-pics that are on article to create some atmosphere for the text, no, that is not bad, I think it is just fine. But I don't think, that using other people's pics or artworks for someone's own ends, is okay. Think about it this way:

You happen to draw/paint some fine pics and post them (for example) in deviantART, and some filthy momlicker just comes and steals your arts and uses it as his own. Is THAT OK WITH YOU, HUH? Because it isn't. "Your deviations must be your own original creations and you may only use resources which are considered legitimate and legal. Submissions which make use of works without proper permission or licensing by the original author will be removed as they come to the attention of the staff."

- Etiquette policy, deviantART

"Stock" images
Like I pointed out some time ago, there are two space marine chapter masters on this site, whose authors have thought, that "Hey, lets use that picture of chapter master in Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition) for my chapter master!" That is not really a good idea. Yes, I know that this particular chaptermaster happens to have no marks or anything that would link it to particular chapter, therefore it is free meat, right?

NOPE! About this particular picture I hate over all others, if you think it is okay to copy Copyrighted material, at least do it in some fashion, there is a fucking white stripe of page for whole left flank of the picture... jeez...

Solution
Kinda... Let's not get too hopeful now, but I think this would at least in some way encourage people to use different pictures and not fall into actors's pics... so...

I think, that with admins help, there should be a community project or page, where anyone who can and happens to draw/paint but has no use for his/her pictures, could post the pictures on that particular page so anyone else could use them. I think this would be good for the community and a nice promotion for the whole site. This certain page would work in a way, that one posts his/her arts in there, writes the picture as "Unknown, female/male/hermaphrodite/whatever" and leave it there. When someone who looks a picture for his/her character comes to page and finds appealing picture, he changes the pic-text to "Character A" and link it to appropriate page where it is used.

Not everyone's need to be Dali or Michelangelo, you just take a look on Karlees Navarre on our right. It is not exactly the most realistic drawing, is colourless but it still is better than any stock image from any codex.