Comments on: How do you attribute Creative Commons Flickr photos?

By: dhamu

dhamu — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:06:58 +0000

Its not about asking people. Its about letting them know that their wonderful work is used somewhere… people will be happy when they see their work is used somewhere… check the tips on http://www.wikihow.com/Attribute-a-Creative-Commons-Licensed-Work

By: mlibrarianus

mlibrarianus — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:12:33 +0000

Thanks for getting me to think about this. I started posting a comment on the person’s Flickr photo page letting them know I found their photo via Zemanta (Firefox plugin) and that I appreciated them using a CC license. I got a reply back that saying that they really appreciated me commenting and letting them know. So that is my new fuel for doing this. It is nice to see where your photos are going and not just that you’ve had X number of views. Thanks for making me think, Bobbi.

By: Bobbi Newman

Bobbi Newman — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 10:31:16 +0000

I think the biggest 2 reasons I started leaving a comment is first if you don’t the photographer doesn’t know you’ve used their photo and where. I know I would appreciate knowing someone used a photo and where, sort of like a trackback when someone links to a blog post. Its nice to have a record of where someone is using your photos. Otherwise you may never know. Second to thank them. Its always nice to know your work was used and appreciate. I There are some truly amazing photos on Flickr under CC and I’m grateful that so many people choose that option.

By: Bobbi Newman

Bobbi Newman — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 10:27:09 +0000

I agree having to ask seems counter to the CC license. Its the area of attribution that gets tricky, how much is enough and is *enough* good enough

By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 02:41:46 +0000

I’ve wondered about this too, and have used different methods. Currently, I just like the photo back to the source. I agree with dave in that contacting the person seems unnecessary and counter to the spirit of cc.

Almost all of my own flickr photos are cc, which is me giving permission for others to use them – they don’t need to send me a message to ask again. It’s nice and courteous, certainly, but it seems unnecessary.

By: Jason Puckett

Jason Puckett — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:23:54 +0000

I don’t leave a comment often enough; I think it’s a nice courtesy, and I like knowing when people use my photos. I do typically link back to the original, and include something like “[Title] by [username]” or real name, if I know it.

By: dave

dave — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:22:58 +0000

This has bugged me for a while. In my mind, the whole point of a CC license is that you don’t have to contact a person first. After all, isn’t that just a form of getting approval? Contacting them after is an option but I don’t feel that CC requires it.

As for attribution, Flickr states that you must attribute in the manner specified by the photographer. Often, there is nothing on the profile indicating how they would like to be attributed. Again, if you have to contact the person to ask, it doesn’t seem worth it.

Typically, I’ll grab the code for the photo (under “all sizes”) which links back to the flickr image and leave it at that. Sometimes, I’ll add an unobtrusive “photo by XYZ on flickr” statement.