I'm afraid I agree with click click.  90% of the images I have had flagged are for keywords that are obviously and provably appropriate.  It is time consuming to have to reply to all of them, but I am afraid if I don't the changes will be rubber stamped.   

And it's not just your usual competitors and wack jobs doing the flagging.  I have had three images flagged by Ellen Boughn and all of them for words that were not only applicable, but visible in the image.  

I seriously doubt Ellen Boughn has nothing better to do than run around flagging images for correct keywords, which makes me think there must be some sort of bug in the system...

While you guys are having your revolution, do you think you can get them to let us add the word vector back in?

Quote from: lisafx on March 01, 2010, 13:59

...
I have had three images flagged by Ellen Boughn and all of them for words that were not only applicable, but visible in the image.  
...

Geez, how embarrassing - I'll bet that's the last we'll see of her flagging keywords!

Lisa...send me a message on Dreamstime with the images and I'll either apologize...I was testing the flagging thing early on and probably did make some mistakes...or explain why I flagged the pixs. And Sharply...I don't flag much these days as I don't work with Dreamstime  but sometimes do when I search for photos there to use in my work.

Good lord, they tell you who flags your content?

Yes they do and this is another reason why this system is flawed.

Talking about retribution...

Again: I don't know what they were thinking!

Good lord, they tell you who flags your content?

Yes and actually I think this is better. At least we know who we are talking to. Not that somebody can't just create any old account and have at it. If somebody isn't afraid to put their name behind the flag, then I think they are probably doing it constructively and not maliciously. When people don't have the b*alls to own up to who they are and know they aren't going to be held accountable, that's when the games begin. IMHO.

But the pics I have had flagged, I emailed the person and asked what their issue was, and they have been good about explaining what the problem words were. And so far, I have agreed.

But the pics I have had flagged, I emailed the person and asked what their issue was, and they have been good about explaining what the problem words were. And so far, I have agreed.

I agree it is much better that you can't just flag files anonymously.  I think that is one of the biggest weaknesses of Istock's Wiki system.

In my case I usually never hear back after explaining the inclusion of the keyword.  The times I have received a response they have agreed the word should not be removed.  In a number of cases the person was a non-english speaker and simply didn't understand the word. 

Personally I have trouble understanding why anyone would suggest removal of keywords in a language they are not very familiar with  

...Personally I have trouble understanding why anyone would suggest removal of keywords in a language they are not very familiar with  

Because they can get 2 cents for each report...  

That might also explain why so many idiotic reports are made - just to try to scam the system.

I hardly never check my msg on Dreamstime but I did after reading this post. Is it enough to fix the keywords or do I have to let them know also? What happens if I havent fixed my keywords?

Just edit your keywords accordingly and then it's ok. Eventually the flagged image will be checked - AGAIN by a reviewer who then verifies if the suggestion was valid and if so you changed your keywords appropriately.

If you feel that the flagged image was reported in error, send an email to DT support asking for clarification.

I believe that some of the comments are coming from people who do not look at the descriptions of the images. They only search, find an image that does not match their search and they hit the flag. Using Lisa's example - the searcher was looking for a mexican flag and when the mexican child holding the US flag came up it obviously did not fit the search criteria so the flag was hit.

I think the flags are the problem. It would be better if the spam reporter had to go further and read the descriptions and keywords, not just hit a flag. They can report bad keywords using the "Report Bad Keywords" tool on the image itself where they actually have to list the bad keywords. The thumbnails with the flag below them are the problem, ripe for incorrect reporting as it is a fast thing to do that does not require the "flagger" to go further to the image to read the description and keywords  to see what the problem might be.

The words in the description are also entered into the search algorithm. Another example, if the photog lists something like, "photo taken in New York City" in the description and the image is of a coffee shop that could be anywhere, the terms New York and City are factored into the search. Someone searching for New York City runs across a photo of a coffee shop and flags it, and on and on...

DT has just taken the dates of all the comments off, they are obviously getting many complaints about really old comments. They let this sit for too long and are just now addressing these old flags. Not a good thing to do, at least without an explanation.

Lisa, please send your issue to DT's support! They need to be made aware of this nonsense. You are a valid, reputable long term contributor who should be left alone in this flagging rampage.

I saw Lumaxart also vented on their message boards. I think they're getting some heat over there right now.

...DT has just taken the dates of all the comments off, they are obviously getting many complaints about really old comments. They let this sit for too long and are just now addressing these old flags. Not a good thing to do, at least without an explanation.

WOW, good observation! This is not a good sign at all.

Also, think about that almost all mentioned flags have dated back to 2007.

Can you imagine how many flags must be in the queue until 2010 ? ? ?

From my experience in the last 2 weeks and speaking to other contributors, I estimate to have every single image that I ever uploaded flagged within the next 6 months if it keeps going at this rate (not to mention that the amount of flags kept increasing over the last few days).

I dare to assume that the entire DT collection will be flagged within a matter of a few months.

Who is supposed to work through all these flags?