It is with a very heavy heart that I have to say that I am pausing here in putting any new captions onto this site. This is because someone in Admin here decided to make a landgrab for the copyright of all the material and put on all pictures posted a site logo. My objection to this is threefold.
Firstly, it often ruins the caption. Visually I put a lot of effort into enhancing the core subject of a caption so that it is clear and stands out. I often amend the original picture to take out distracting detail or to create a space where I can put the words in such a way that the background doesn’t affect legibility. Taking away a section of the picture means it will inevitably cover either the subject or worse, the writing. Either way it distracts massively and ruins the mood I am trying to create.
Secondly, I object to the premise that in some way the caption once posted belongs to the site. Legally, it should be obvious that in any major country legal zone it doesn’t. The original picture is most often picked from a picture web site and doesn’t belong to me (or often, the site) but the words are mine alone and do belong to me. I’m fine with this site using any of them to promote the site if they wish. Overall they use all the site’s material to generate views and revenue. I’m fine with that, but they don’t own the content and shouldn’t try to put their brand mark on it.
Lastly, the free posting of pictures often drives others to try to create material of their own. Some put pictures up just hoping someone else will use them to create captions or other content using it. Others are inspired by what they see and may create their own work for the first time. Clearly this becomes more difficult if it already comes with a site logo on it and then it gets worked on and another site logo goes on, possibly somewhere else. The really experienced users might be capable of removing it, but that can take some time and the vast majority won’t even try.
There seems no sound reason to defend this practise. It spoils enjoyment, limits participation and doesn’t even work to establish legal ownership. It might limit some from stealing here to post elsewhere, but frankly if other sites exist which don’t use such marks but which do have users which appreciate the work, authors might just go there anyway. It therefore becomes self defeating to do it.
I like this site and I do love creating this material. In particular, I really appreciate the comments and likes that it has produced from you, the readers. If you don’t agree with my stance, then do nothing or maybe say so here. If you do, then write to the site moderators yourself and say so. They may listen if enough people speak up. My two threads have over 2,000 captions now and have been viewed over 70,000 times in just over a year, by you. I remain eternally grateful for this but I now need your help to continue.