Some people say there was a mass boycott of Thinkstock and the Partner Programme. Others say only a small proportion boycotted it. It would be nice to have an idea of how widespread the boycott was or wasn't and an anonymous poll might give an indication of that, if enough people vote.

Thanks for taking part.

I'm exclusive and I have put some fines over there.  It is not really working for me and has gone down in the last month which I would imagine is because they have forced the indies to go over to it.

Well, I'm Exclusive too, and as I posted on the iStock forum, I get about 3x the number of DLs on regular IS sales as I get from the PP - and about 20x the royalties.

But then I only have about 30% of my portfolio on the PP, and that's only the ones that sell poorly on IS, so perhaps it's to be expected.  Only one of my PP files sells well (and it barely sold at all in the regular collection).

So, I didn't really boycott it, but I don't put much in either.  It's hardly a success for me but it gets a few dollars from some files which haven't sold on regular iStock and that was really all I ever expected.

I boycotted it until I didn't have a choice anymore.

Same as Helix, I never had a choice. I hope you get enough exclusives coming through to participate to give the numbers meaning.

I also boycotted until I was forced in but the way istock are going, that might not be for long.

Quote from: sharpshot on November 29, 2011, 13:48
I also boycotted until I was forced in but the way istock are going, that might not be for long.

+1

Explain the answer option of Not Sure (for both Indie and Excl).

Is it not as simple as Yes and NO, I'm struggling to see how anyone can be Not Sure of boycotting the policy, or do you mean Don't Care (DGAD) folks?

It's for people who haven't been paying attention, just letting life roll by (in which case, I believe, iStock will opt them in).

Obviously, I know all the Indies are now getting steamrollered into it like it or not (or out of "the family") so the question is about where you stood when the choice existed.

Quote from: Cogent Marketing on November 29, 2011, 13:25
Same as Helix, I never had a choice. I hope you get enough exclusives coming through to participate to give the numbers meaning.

Same here!

No. I am much more in favour of supporting fair small/new sites (by uploading port and telling people) than boycotting big ones. In other words, grab what we can in current status while actively helping to build the next, better one.

Boycotting means leaving our marketshare to the big contributors which don't boycott - understandably so, because they would lose thousands of dollars each month.

Quote from: helix7 on November 29, 2011, 13:20

I boycotted it until I didn't have a choice anymore.

There's always a choice.

Quote from: cthoman on November 29, 2011, 14:59

Quote from: helix7 on November 29, 2011, 13:20

I boycotted it until I didn't have a choice anymore.

There's always a choice.

As an independent the only choice was to remove your entire portfolio and leave iStockphoto or agree to the PP. If that's a choice, it's a pretty mean-spirited one.

I boycotted it until a few months ago because I believed it would damage iStock itself to have its exclusive files mirrored on a subscription site, as discussed ad nauseam in iStock's own forums back at the beginning. But then I realised that, with the Daleks in charge, resistance was futile.

My PP earnings have been disappointing to say the least -- a whole month's worth is about the same as half a day on iStock. Granted, I held back a few of my top sellers, and as an exclusive I'm restricted to files older than 18 months, but somehow I don't think that's distorted the picture too much.

Quote from: cthoman on November 29, 2011, 14:59

Quote from: helix7 on November 29, 2011, 13:20

I boycotted it until I didn't have a choice anymore.

There's always a choice.

I have viewed the Partner Program as a very, very bad idea for contributors from day 1 (I was exclusive then). I didn't think it improved much with the small increases in royalty payments made on KKT's watch when they tried to increase the content available.

As far as having a choice, if iStock continues its earnings free-fall, it'll be possible to leave the site completely, but as it stands it was too big a chunk to just delete my portfolio on September 28th. Our "choice" was the same as Getty contributors' "choice" with their new contract in the Spring - only a choice in the narrowest possible meaning of that word. What I did do was withhold new content from iStock for 6 months minimum so it gets a chance to sell everywhere else before Thinkstock/photos.com get it. As none of the forced-participation independent content from iStock has made it to the PP yet, I wish they'd just get on with it or call the deal off. But I'm assuming it's yet another thing in the long list of broken features at iStock.

I don't think the partner program is inevitably a bad thing. If iStock and Getty had been less transparently greedy I think they might have structured something that worked well for both contributors and them. However, they've let their own dollar bin and subscription programs languish while TS/photos.com strumble along in SS's dust. Truly the worst of all worlds at the moment.

Quote from: cthoman on November 29, 2011, 14:59

Quote from: helix7 on November 29, 2011, 13:20

I boycotted it until I didn't have a choice anymore.

There's always a choice.

Not all choices are sensible or expedient.

Only a small fraction of my content will be forced into PP if/when they ever get around to it. I never volunteered anything for it. I don't really see that option on the poll.

I ticked 'i boycot'; like many i'd never ever have opted in; now that we're forced i deleted every file that was worth something to me and doesnt belong on a flea market... so i'm still sort of boycotting, but not entirely because i bent and still have some files there... they dont get any new stuff though, i stopped uploading completely.
(wished that darn b*stards would have told the migration would take forever, i could have waited with disabling...but i assumed the migration would have started immediately after the deadline of sept.. )

Is there an answer for those who came across from StockExpert?

Quote from: Cogent Marketing on November 29, 2011, 15:25
As an independent the only choice was to remove your entire portfolio and leave iStockphoto or agree to the PP. If that's a choice, it's a pretty mean-spirited one.

It is a choice though. Like it or not, you agreed to the Partner Program if you stayed.

http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/hobson%27s+choice.html

Quote from: Cogent Marketing on November 29, 2011, 15:25

Quote from: cthoman on November 29, 2011, 14:59

Quote from: helix7 on November 29, 2011, 13:20

I boycotted it until I didn't have a choice anymore.

There's always a choice.

As an independent the only choice was to remove your entire portfolio and leave iStockphoto or agree to the PP. If that's a choice, it's a pretty mean-spirited one.

Why? do they keep investing so much time, effort and money on advertising this TS?  hell, nobody is making anything over there, I havent heard of anybody happy with their earnings. Is it meant to be some Messiah micro site, which will open everybodys eyes, to see the light perhaps? beats me completely.

Quote from: rubyroo on November 29, 2011, 16:46
http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/hobson%27s+choice.html

Wait? We weren't supposed to choose the alternative in their ultimatum? Nobody told me that.

I voted yes... deleted my entire portfolio over there.

Patrick H.