MicrostockGroup
Agency Based Discussion => iStockPhoto.com => Topic started by: JPSDK on January 25, 2013, 18:36
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These days people get banned from iStock.
is that funny, meaningless or rude?
Well, I think it is significant.
So let us make a list of us who are banned.
It can always be usefull, when we try to understand what is going on.
Im one.
I was banned because I asked istocklawyer questions of the kind that would hold water in court. Like: I have asked this question and you have replied, that means that you have seen the question and it is such not unknown to you and istock.
Now who else is in the club and for what?
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Add me. Being banned 30 seconds after i post reply to Lobo
Lobo : Im not going to allow this to turn into a "THESE ARE ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE MAKING CONTRIBUTORS ANGRY" thread. We have that list. Don't derail this discussion nor cause my hammer finger to start flying all over the place.)
My response " And buy the way all the things are just fine here"
It is all together funny, meaningless and rude.
Best,
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And me:
Posted By Lobo:
I to find it ironic that we have managed to take that site down as quickly as we did and people are still finding reasons to be upset.....
Not as ironic as we find it, it just goes to further highlight how completely out of touch with it's contributors istock/getty are. Nobody was upset at the site - in fact it's very clear from this thread that we were all using it to check whether our images were included. We are only upset that istock/getty have allowed the display & download of contributors images at high resolution to be possible (and legal) by selling images to google to redistribute for free on some sort of perpetual license that no-one but google/getty are privy too.
I think most contributors have had enough now and unless there are some concrete things done to re-compensate the contributors involved and give us the ability to opt out of 3rd party deals such as this then we're going to be leaving in droves.
Followed up by an email:
The administration team at iStockphoto has revoked your forum privileges. Comments from iStockphoto Administrators (if any):
Take care. I'm pretty sure this will be best considering you're on your way out. I know how taxing it can be to have to respond to everything especially when you have already seemingly made up your mind to leave..
Regards,
Lobo
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I've been banned since being told to take a little break in September 2011 - see the details here in an earlier MSG post (http://www.microstockgroup.com/istockphoto-com/stats-haven't-updated-since-nov-14th/msg283835/#msg283835)
I still have an open support ticket from May 4, 2012 asking if my ban is permanent and if not, may I have my forum privs back. Other than a note in September 2012 from oldladybird saying "I am going to forward this onto the correct department as it was assigned incorrectly and was buried in the ticketing system." I've heard nothing.
It wouldn't seem too hard to just reply that the ban is lifetime, but they won't or can't do that. So for the most part the ban's a help in that it has weaned me from spending time in the forums.
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Lobo : nor cause my hammer finger to start flying all over the place.)
What a guy Lobo is. Talks a great game behind a screen. I gave him my finger a long while back. I am sure there are plenty of fingers saluting him to this day.
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These days people get banned from iStock.
is that funny, meaningless or rude?
Well, I think it is significant.
So let us make a list of us who are banned.
It can always be usefull, when we try to understand what is going on.
Im one.
I was banned because I asked istocklawyer questions of the kind that would hold water in court. Like: I have asked this question and you have replied, that means that you have seen the question and it is such not unknown to you and istock.
Now who else is in the club and for what?
yeah they dont like Danes. Youre too close to Greenland you see.
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Just got banned as well
cbarnes said:
``...From my perspective, however, this issue should have gone immediately to a lawyer. Instead it was openly published here and a call to action has now been taking place for something to occur in February...``
My response:
You must be kidding right...your perspective is similar to what a Getty lawyer would probably say.. How can keeping a secret about images being redistributed for free, by such a powerhouse as Google, would make it right for their owners?
Lobo
Thanks, Cybernesco. I get to now show what is going to happen if people don't read what I post. Enjoy your ban.
http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=350913&messageid=6830693 (http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=350913&messageid=6830693)
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Clearly this Lobo character is the Public (Contributor) Relations Officer for iStock, especially considering how they are dealing with the whole Google debacle. Should get some sort of award for it. I am sure you guys can come up with a few ;)
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Clearly they dont like the talk of lawyers and delete and ban people who say that sort of things.
Maybe because they will later claim that they didnt know.
Welcome in the club folks!
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I take back anything I have ever said sympathetic towards forum moderators on IStock.
It seems there is a definite strategy going on there.
Keep it all to one easily managed thread, let everyone post whatever they like in it for while so they can let off steam then swoop in and clean up the thread to an IStock's sanitized version and ban everyone who has exposed themselves as being anti the party line.
Most of the people banned seem to have done nothing wrong other than not towing that party line.
I can definitely understand it from IStock's perspective of course. It's only a problem when people are reading the IStock forum thinking it is anything but a publicity tool for IStock.
What we have to do is make sure everyone moves the discussion off of the IStock forum and over to independent forums like this one. If people keep discussing it over there IStock will continue to be able to give whatever impression they like about what is going on to the large number people who get all their info from just those boards.
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I just got booted as well.
Posted By dcdp:
- asked a few questions about the situation with Google Drive that weren't addressed in an announcement
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Posted By Lobo:
Sorry, like I said this update wasn't going to blow minds or put people at ease. It's a confirmation that we're still working on things. The other thread is still open o people can keep those particular conversations over there.
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Posted By dcdp:
Then why not just say, "We have nothing further to add at this time"?
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Posted By Lobo:
Why do that when we have reliable folks like you who we know will come in and point that out for us. The post wasn't for you I guess. It was for the people who I've managed to dialogue with in here who aren't just looking to react and tell us how incompetent we are in every attempt we make.
Maybe avoid the forums for a few days to see where things land. It might do you some good.
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Posted By dcdp:
I have been
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Ban email:
The administration team at iStockphoto has revoked your forum privileges. Comments from iStockphoto Administrators (if any):
David, I'm done going back and forth like this with you. Hopefully you can now focus on why you are here in the first place.
Lobo
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Someone needs a time out but it isn't you! If he keeps going he'll only have himself to argue with...
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I can't remember why I was banned (hey, it was over two years ago), but I have posted the 'offending' posts here before. Essentially it was because I didn't quieten down quickly enough after the RC changes, he didn't like my one-liners and apparently he didn't like that I hadn't replied to my warning email (there was no invitation to reply, and no indication that it was necessary).
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Count me in, banned on thursday, after over 130 of my files were fraudently downloaded, resulting in $1000 refunds in a short space of time. Managed to speak to someone at istock who told me this was a risk I took in selling online, I posted about it in the forums, Bonobo posted a snarky comment suggesting I was lying, locks the thread and bans me, no warning, no apology.
Loyal member for 10 years both as buyer and contributor (6years). Exclusive for 5, am absolutely disgusted, with him and with them.
What they seem to forget is the close relationship between contributors and buyers - sometimes they are one and the same person. They cannot carry on treating their customers with this much contempt and not expect there to be repercussions. Although I no longer purchase images directly, in my day job as Studio Manager/Art Director I am reponsible for sourcing quality imagery and suppliers, those suggestions will no longer include istock.
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...Bonobo posted a snarky comment...
While I appreciate the play on words, I think you are giving Bonobos a bad name. They are a gentle, peaceful genus, known for f$cking around solving their problems via sexual activity. I'm not sure the same applies to our hairy friend, nor am I sure I want to know ;D
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...Bonobo posted a snarky comment...
While I appreciate the play on words, I think you are giving Bonobos a bad name. They are a gentle, peaceful genus, known for f$cking around solving their problems via sexual activity. I'm not sure the same applies to our hairy friend, nor am I sure I want to know ;D
I stand corrected, I thought they were unpleasant and aggressive little primates, renowned for almost continual self abuse, as for our bullying friend, I really have no idea :)
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...Bonobo posted a snarky comment...
While I appreciate the play on words, I think you are giving Bonobos a bad name. They are a gentle, peaceful genus, known for f$cking around solving their problems via sexual activity. I'm not sure the same applies to our hairy friend, nor am I sure I want to know ;D
I stand corrected, I thought they were unpleasant and aggressive little primates, renowned for almost continual self abuse, as for our bullying friend, I really have no idea :)
The aggressive ones are chimpanzees - at least they are capable of very complex intrigues and even murder. Very similar to humans. Bonobos are the only species that managed "make love not war". ;-)
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I've had a post deleted from that thread, responding not so happy clappy about the 'update' about MS and Google deals. I'm guessing I'm not the only one, so all the happy posts left are probably just the ones they haven't deleted.
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Hi i have just been banned from IS forum, and it is interesting, I was banned just because I wrote that the API yahoo deal was too complex for me to understand. Lobo came back to me and banned me because, according to him I should read his initial post. Which I did, but was too complex for me to understand. I think there is a more powerful reason than our light last posts to ban us. In the past I posted much stronger comments and I was not even called by lobo. There are a proccess of cleaning the forum just to have easy to handle people there and look better in front of getty big boys
Anyway, IS forums lately are not as interesting as they used to be. I wont miss posting there.
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The forums are almost dead and that is a sign of a dying company!
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Wow, Lobo just treats everyone like children. So unprofessonal. iStock must be getting very nervous to see so many bans for such stupid reasons.
Great job iStock on further alienating your contributors and further driving revenue from your site. What a bunch of idiots.
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Juan - I'm amazed that it has taken this long :)
Like most of the recent bans, it's nuts. You have a lot invested in iStock and are understandably not happy about recent events.
Lots of the conversation has moved from iStock forums to Facebook groups or here - and as the ranks of the banned grow, that's only going to accelerate
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Yes, they are definitely making an attempt to clean house. Very touchy.
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They haven't banned you (yet) though? :)
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Sorry you have been banned, Juan. It seems to me that it is a symptom of the current effort by iStock's resident sociopath, to divert discussion into tangential and anodyne directions (e.g. yoo-yay - there will be a restructuring of the forum structure!!! Why had I been losing faith!?! With this essential change, we can boldly go .... well - nowhere actually)
I stopped actively contributing to any 'Discussion' related threads, when iStock implemented the RC thing, on the basis that they had broken the spirit of the contract I signed, and were no longer a trustworthy agent/distributor/copyright-abuser. I am still sorry that this decision has proved to be so well-founded.
I may or may not agree with all/anything you say, but I do look forward to you contributing in this forum.
Regards
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Congratulations! I probably would have gotten banned years ago...if I cared enough about them to waste my time posting on their Rah-Rah forum.
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I would never have thought I'd see the day where Peebert seemed like a rational and reasonable alternative to forum moderation. Guess times really have changed!
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Definitely something is going on, probably something big is coming, like having a search without exclusives, they are cleaning the house before they are implementing their new search levels just in case. The reason I was banned was very stupid, lobo was probably waiting for me to write anything just to get rid of me, My comments are probably not welcome no matter what I say, just in case.
This is ridiculous, even if lobo takes the ban on me away I am not going to participate in their farse anymore.
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Hi i have just been banned from IS forum, and it is interesting, I was banned just because I wrote that the API yahoo deal was too complex for me to understand. Lobo came back to me and banned me because, according to him I should read his initial post. Which I did, but was too complex for me to understand. I think there is a more powerful reason than our light last posts to ban us. In the past I posted much stronger comments and I was not even called by lobo. There are a proccess of cleaning the forum just to have easy to handle people there and look better in front of getty big boys
Anyway, IS forums lately are not as interesting as they used to be. I wont miss posting there.
Whoa, that's an overreaction surely?
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I would never have thought I'd see the day where Peebert seemed like a rational and reasonable alternative to forum moderation. Guess times really have changed!
I wonder whether Peebert he will be part of Stocksy. Until recently he was an admin at Bruce's Saatchi Online site.
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Seriously? Banned from sitemails? I though you could only be banned from the forums
Nope, you can be banned from SM - I have 19 sitting there rudely unreplied-to, though I'm sure at least 10 of these are replies from DS to some keywording issues I'd raised before I was banned (and don't know the outcome of).
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Yes, they are definitely making an attempt to clean house. Very touchy.
Seems this is part 2 of "Changes in the way we communicate to the iStock community".
Part 1 was cancelled due to lack of interest (though not from contributors).
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One post removed for swearing and name calling.
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Yes, they are definitely making an attempt to clean house. Very touchy.
Seems this is part 2 of "Changes in the way we communicate to the iStock community".
Does anyone have the link to the quote KKT made in some interview when he said something like 'the complaints about the RC system 'just went away' (which was because at some random point, continuing dissenters were banned or at least threatened).
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Perhaps this was it?
"It didn't really affect most people," Thompson said. "Everyone sort of settled down."
From here
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20059972-264.html (http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20059972-264.html)
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Perhaps this was it?
"It didn't really affect most people," Thompson said. "Everyone sort of settled down."
From here
[url]http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20059972-264.html[/url] ([url]http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20059972-264.html[/url])
Gosh, JoAnn - you're good AND fast!
"It didn't really affect most people,"
Hahahahaha
If it wasn't going to affect most people, why on earth would they have spent the IT time, money and website overhead on the system in the first place.
Even now, it's clear they'd have been better spending the money on better search, keeping the site stable, and marketing.
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lobo emailed me the other day writing " don't make me humiliate you in public " if i went off topic again ?? for what - don't know. i find the forums so toxic i hardly ever go there - did make a remark can't remember was o/t it was so tame yada yada. wrote back said for him "not to fret he couldn't humiliate me." i've had enough of istock. those angry people in the forums can't be all wrong. when an artist/contributor can't even get an accurate count of how many views an image is getting - it's time to go. taking back my exclusive.
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lobo emailed me the other day writing " don't make me humiliate you in public " if i went off topic again ?? for what - don't know. ...
What on earth do you think he had in mind? Leaving aside the idiocy of that sort of bullying approach for a forum moderator, in practice, how do you carry out that sort of threat - expose someone's rejected images and heap scorn on how bad they are? Judge Ross on Crestock (http://www.crestock.com/blog/photography/10-stock-photos-that-just-wont-sell-43.aspx) used to do that :)
You'll find lots of guidance and suggestions here about making the transition to independence if that's the way you decide to go. Lots of turmoil at the moment though - not just a istock.
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That's probably part of the Evil Plan.
Set Lobo on loads of people so they'll give up exclusivity and they can pay them much less.
:( >:(
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joined istock to see where it would take me and it's been great learning how to make a technically good photograph but most of my work is nature and raw produce & that stuff doesn't
sell much. keeps me in art supplies but the last month or so those sales have dwindled to almost nada so giving up the exclusive means nothing. rather be doing more vector abstracts, designs, drawings etc. Not interested in being exclusive anywhere. will keep what i have at istock (with out the exclusive) except for a few and then see what happens elsewhere. advice is surely appreciated. was thinking trying shutterstock or fotolia, pond5? what do you think?
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iS forums are not being moderated anymore. iS forum are now been censored, and there is a big difference between being moderated and being censored. In the free world, freedom of speech is moderated, in Red China and Russia, freedom of speech is censored.
Therefore because I live in a free country I am not going to tolerate anyone to censor me consequently I see no reason to came back to IS forums even if they reinstate my "privilege" to participate in their forums.
I encourage others to participate in forums like microstock forums or Sean Locke forums.
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... was thinking trying shutterstock or fotolia, pond5? what do you think?
In terms of money - at least for the moment - you should hit to the top 4. So SS, FT and DT (see the poll results on the right). I'm just starting with pond5 uploading directly (versus via partner sites having my work there) and I have no idea how it will go. You'll see if you read here that there are issues with all of the top sites :(
In terms of people who deal fairly, try GL Stock. Of the middle tier sites, 123rf and for some people (I'm not there) DepositPhotos do reasonably well. Ignore Stockfresh; it's some sort of poll aberration that it's there in the middle tier.
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So sad read all this sort of bad things coming from Istock. I remember when i was accepted as part of community, year 2006. Istock was a great place, people really friendly and colaborative. Everything was destroyed since Getty put his hands over our beloved place.
Sorry my english, but I think i gave my message.
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I banned myself from the iStock forums. Does that count? I decided not to wait for Lobo's hammer. I wrote a long and detailed response to lowering independent royalty rates and when I reread it before posting I knew I was about to get banned so I used my DELETE key instead. At least I've kept my privileges even if I've chosen not to use them for the time being.
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I think Lobo has people keeping him informed on what is being said in secret FB groups
Well, to be honest- and I should have probably quoted Inkkstudios- the only time I'm made aware of anything is when it's something that hasn't been brought up in the forums. No one has sent me screenshots or anything like that. Oh, and there are the occasional reminder of the love people have for me. Hey, have we decided what the international symbol for sarcasm is yet?
http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=351117&page=11 (http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=351117&page=11)
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Perhaps this was it?
"It didn't really affect most people," Thompson said. "Everyone sort of settled down."
From here
[url]http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20059972-264.html[/url] ([url]http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20059972-264.html[/url])
So....angry....right...now
Everyone sort of just got banned from the forum or had their posts deleted I think is what he meant. I always thought he was kind of a tragic bumbling dope, but that quote is so incredibly callous I have to reevaluate my opinion of him.
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I'll just leave this here...
(http://houseofshane.com/test/forums-cartoon.jpg)
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Wow great work!
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^^ Yup. >:( :'( >:(
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^^^^^hahaha love it and unfortunatly so true.
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LOL :-X
:D :D :D
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I'll just leave this here...
([url]http://houseofshane.com/test/forums-cartoon.jpg[/url])
Love it, the only thing missing is the "hammer" ;)
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Wow great work!
Too bad there's not some free multiplier for posts that go over 20+ in short time.
Made my day reading it. Nice work Artpuppy
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I'll just leave this here...
([url]http://houseofshane.com/test/forums-cartoon.jpg[/url])
Your excellent artwork says it all :)
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I'll just leave this here...
You're cheering up a bunch of us with your talented (if black) humor. Even if it's wasted on them, it's not wasted on us :)
And I hope you don't mind, but I shared a link to those with a FB group (i.e. it's not public). PM me if you want me to remove the links
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I'll just leave this here...
You're cheering up a bunch of us with your talented (if black) humor. Even if it's wasted on them, it's not wasted on us :)
And I hope you don't mind, but I shared a link to those with a FB group (i.e. it's not public). PM me if you want me to remove the links
What FB group? Can i be included?
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I'll just leave this here...
You're cheering up a bunch of us with your talented (if black) humor. Even if it's wasted on them, it's not wasted on us :)
And I hope you don't mind, but I shared a link to those with a FB group (i.e. it's not public). PM me if you want me to remove the links
Thanks everybody. Jo Ann & all, yes you can use the cartoon as you wish. You may not have the istock forums, but you all have a place (and voice) elsewhere.
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I've actually added it to my facebook status. Terrific work. I think maybe you should consider a caption contest. I would be more than happy to participate in that.
As for this Banned from iStock Club: I understand. It's easy for you to speak about your experience without also taking into consideration the number of times I have had to contact people, delete posts, try as best as I can to rationalize why it's important for people to remain civil. I'm not perfect. I rise to the bait left out for me occasionally.
These are public forums too. We can all read them. Contributor Relations(who tend to get the worst of the frustration - see the deactivation notice thread you have going), Client Relations(they get the calls that should probably be going to Contributor Relations- no phone support is horrible, I know) and the few buyers who come in to see what is going on here. Everyone sees everything.
Anyhoo, I've already made it clear in the forum restructure thread that anyone who would like to discuss having their privileges reinstated are more than welcome to contact me via site mail on iStock. Clearly, not all of you have site mail either. So I suspect your best bet is via a support ticket.
Thanks, folks. Don't hate the player, hate the game ;)
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Wow, Made a screenshot in case this is real and disappears
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Wow. More one IS staff here. When Lobo itself arrives?
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I've actually added it to my facebook status. Terrific work. I think maybe you should consider a caption contest. I would be more than happy to participate in that.
As for this Banned from iStock Club: I understand. It's easy for you to speak about your experience without also taking into consideration the number of times I have had to contact people, delete posts, try as best as I can to rationalize why it's important for people to remain civil. I'm not perfect. I rise to the bait left out for me occasionally.
These are public forums too. We can all read them. Contributor Relations(who tend to get the worst of the frustration - see the deactivation notice thread you have going), Client Relations(they get the calls that should probably be going to Contributor Relations- no phone support is horrible, I know) and the few buyers who come in to see what is going on here. Everyone sees everything.
Anyhoo, I've already made it clear in the forum restructure thread that anyone who would like to discuss having their privileges reinstated are more than welcome to contact me via site mail on iStock. Clearly, not all of you have site mail either. So I suspect your best bet is via a support ticket.
Thanks, folks. Don't hate the player, hate the game ;)
How dare you!
I was very civil in the posts that got me banned, it was not name calling, it was critisism of the company.
Do not come here and pretend that we were not civil.
It is YOU who was not civil. Stepped on freedom of speech and didnt dare to listen to any critisism.
Go away, find a shelter inside your maze of sulfurous delutions, called istock..
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Wow, just wow, thats a clear cut case of severe delusionalism
http://delusionalism.blogspot.ie/2010/02/what-is-delusionalism.html (http://delusionalism.blogspot.ie/2010/02/what-is-delusionalism.html)
Seriously, I do not want to get banned here, but if I could speak my mind, you would get a few minutes worth of severe foul language thrown at you, pieman.
One word. Despicable.
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It's remarkably easy for support tickets to be 'disappeared'.
In any case, why bother?
it's also one of iStock's many 'glorious ironies' that mods so often say to contact CR, who not only give different answers depending on who answers your query, and too often just seem to 'make things up', but also too often refer us back to 'our forums, which are a marvellous resource'.
Ha - way to avoid answering a question on all sides.
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It's remarkably easy for support tickets to be 'disappeared'.
In any case, why bother?
it's also one of iStock's many 'glorious ironies' that mods so often say to contact CR, who not only give different answers depending on who answers your query, and too often just seem to 'make things up', but also too often refer us back to 'our forums, which are a marvellous resource'.
Ha - way to avoid answering a question on all sides.
Mail to CR = /dev/null
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I guess that's part of the problem. Everyone wants to make things about me. Well it's about all of us. Yes, this is my account. I'm Lobo on iStock. I'm the horrible monster.
Maybe leaf will let you speak your mind. I can assure you I've read plenty of terrible things in my 11 years with iStock so you won't hurt my feelings. One thing you might consider: swearing and cursing at me might only go towards proving my point as to why you were banned in the first place.
As for the REASONS people are typically banned: it comes down to civility. There are people who seem to have an interesting way of omitting certain facts related to the loss of their privileges. I won't call people out but if you consider the inherent tone present here it might be easier to understand.
These forums have lurkers too. People who would like to participate are hesitant because there is rarely anything constructive going on. It seems to be a catch all for anger and rage. I read these forums everyday. Don't think for a second I don't.
Anyway. Have at it. I'll leave you all now and let you prove me wrong. Thanks for reading. Apologies for any grammar or spelling issue. I'm typing this on my phone.
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I'm Lobo on iStock. I'm the horrible monster.
Ok, so you are not delusional
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The arrogance remains the same.
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My support ticket asking if mine is a lifetime ban or can I have my posting privileges back - from May 4 2012 - has disappeared and was never answered.
Brenda (oldladybird) sent me e-mail in September 2012 saying the ticket had been incorrectly assigned and was "buried in the ticketing system".
Since then nothing and recently the ticket disappeared. At this point - for me - it's moot, but you should understand that telling people to open a support ticket doesn't always result in any response at all.
You can try to make the whole thing seem civilized and fair, but that's just not what many of us have experienced. I can't do more than guess at why this happens the way it does, but you can't expect people who know better to accept this whitewashing effort.
I contributed in many ways in many sections of the iStock forums and being banned for life for one snarky remark about a misguided venture (Feast) seems to me that you didn't take into consideration any of my past donated time (critique forum in particular). Coming to an off-site forum where people have taken refuge from your bans and suggesting that we're not considering how hard your job is is just rich.
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I dont want to "recover". It is not me who has lost priveleges. It is Istock who has lost me.
And Lobos presses of buttons has cost istock money.
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@ARTPUPPY -
You are truly brilliant. That made my day! 8)
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Is there a reason that admins are allowed in this forum? Couldn't membership be controlled so that we don't have to worry about them butting in here too?
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.
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You can ignore them if you want...
Oh, I know. Just seems like they shouldn't be welcome at all here, but maybe that's just my opinion.
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Is there a reason that admins are allowed in this forum? Couldn't membership be controlled so that we don't have to worry about them butting in here too?
If you believe in freedom of speech, then they should be allowed to be here. And you have your opportunity to voice your opinion to them in neutral territory. Relish it, imo.
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I think all my recent posts in the istock forum have been critical of them and I haven't been banned. But some of the posts that people have said they have been banned for don't look any worse than mine. Perhaps they have been more persistent than I have?
If pieman is Lobo, it's good to know that istock people look at this forum but its a shame that nearly all posts here are critical of istock. There's an easy way to fix that. Bring back the 20% fixed commission for non-exclusives and give us an opt-out for Thinkstock and any Google like deals. As that's never going to happen, keep reading the 99.9% negative posts about istock here.
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If you believe in freedom of speech, then they should be allowed to be here.
I don't when it comes to stuff like this. And any forum is bound by whatever rules those who run the place decide to enforce - heck, we've seen that in the iStock forums. No such thing as free speech there... But again, maybe its just me.
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Basically what he is saying is that IS is aware of all the pain they are causing their own contributors but choose to do nothing about it.
Look what has come of the google deal revolt. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
If I ran a company and saw this much heartache I would make changes. But thats just me.
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Admins are part of the whole stock scene. I don´t believe in banning people (no irony intended).
I was a moderator on istock and I was still actively posting here. FWIW I have worked with Lobo as a colleague and thought he did a his job as "bad cop" really well. The forums are an unbelievably rough place to work and what you see on the forum "stage" is only a small part of the picture.
But like he says moderators are only human and they make mistakes. And it is especially difficult for an admin to communicate if you don´t even have more information yourself about a new situation or have been given conflicting directions from those higher up. Moderators don´t work in a vacuum, they are employees and have to follow directions.
For those who would like to have sitemail or posting privileges back, I would take him up on the offer to just site mail him or write to support.
He must have amazing inner strength to be doing his job for so long. But from the new threads about forum discussions, new language forums, editorial questions it looks like he is genuinly making a much stronger effort to engage the community. I also wouldn´t be surprised if he had to fight to get that going.
Like he says, he is part of a bigger game and can only work within the space he has been given.
Ultimately the forum quality and the relationship between admins and the community is decided by Getty. What kind of community life do they want? They are the only ones who can make that decision.
Any admins who want to work actively with the community will need professional training to learn how to communicate effectively via social media. Especially because a very large part of the community does not have English as a first language.
A lot of nuances of English are simply not understood by a huge number of people. I used to point that out many times when I was working with the German language forum.
It looks like 2 years and various s**storms later suggestions by Michael and me are being read with a more open mind.
So I hope the forums will improve because the old istock community life was a great way to attract new talent.
Right now it is just a shadow of what it use to be.
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Basically what he is saying is that IS is aware of all the pain they are causing their own contributors but choose to do nothing about it.
Look what has come of the google deal revolt. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
If I ran a company and saw this much heartache I would make changes. But thats just me.
I'll bet you're not rich though, are you? ;)
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If you believe in freedom of speech, then they should be allowed to be here.
I don't when it comes to stuff like this. And any forum is bound by whatever rules those who run the place decide to enforce - heck, we've seen that in the iStock forums. No such thing as free speech there... But again, maybe its just me.
I don't think it's practical to ban admins as in general, when they come here they come to help and fix problems. There'd be this cat and mouse game of admins signing up from other computers and you don't need to produce ID to become a member here.
The two agencies who have done something other than offer help are iStock and Fotoliia. Fotolia's the reason we have so many anonymous folks - Paul Cowan is now "out" from behind Baldrick's Trousers as he was able to get paid and close his a/c at Fotolia and no longer had to worry about retaliation - which in FT's case was stated policy rather than just whim.
I do wish it were mandatory to have the special "stamp" for those who were staff. Tyler (Leaf) has offered it as an option so those of us here can know when we're dealing with agency staff vs. contributors. But if the members don't want to then they don't have to have it.
As long as everyone knows they're dealing with agency staff so they can act appropriately I think that's the most reasonable compromise.
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Basically what he is saying is that IS is aware of all the pain they are causing their own contributors but choose to do nothing about it.
Look what has come of the google deal revolt. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
If I ran a company and saw this much heartache I would make changes. But thats just me.
I'll bet you're not rich though, are you? ;)
do you really think iStock will be rich in a few years? please don't tell me that they are growing....
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Is there a reason that admins are allowed in this forum? Couldn't membership be controlled so that we don't have to worry about them butting in here too?
If you believe in freedom of speech, then they should be allowed to be here. And you have your opportunity to voice your opinion to them in neutral territory. Relish it, imo.
I inferred from Lobo's responses (and I certainly could be wrong) that if they want to can you AS A CONTRIBUTOR they will. And whatever you post in MSG, they read. I almost felt like he was threatening us to some degree to watch what we say in here too.
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Is there a reason that admins are allowed in this forum? Couldn't membership be controlled so that we don't have to worry about them butting in here too?
If you believe in freedom of speech, then they should be allowed to be here. And you have your opportunity to voice your opinion to them in neutral territory. Relish it, imo.
I inferred from Lobo's responses (and I certainly could be wrong) that if they want to can you they will. And whatever you post, they read. I almost felt like he was threatening us to some degree to watch what we say in here too.
I got the same impression, it is not enough to bully people on the forms, he could not control his contempt and decided to make various cloaked threat's here under the guise of an olive leaf.
Thanks, folks. Don't hate the player, hate the game ;)
Lobo seems to miss the point, this is not a game we are talking about, but peoples livelihoods and we have every right to be angry in regard to the business decisions Getty has been making which impact our livelyhoods.
I guess that's part of the problem. Everyone wants to make things about me. Well it's about all of us. Yes, this is my account. I'm Lobo on iStock. I'm the horrible monster.
These forums have lurkers too. People who would like to participate are hesitant because there is rarely anything constructive going on. It seems to be a catch all for anger and rage. I read these forums everyday. Don't think for a second I don't.
Anger does not happen in a vacuum, I can remember when this forum was filled non stop IS WHOOYAY's. The actions IS has made changed that environment. For most part the folks at MSG are the same generally positive people who used to support IS. Their outlook has changed drastically as a result of a long list of negative financial developments created mainly by Getty.
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I almost felt like he was threatening us to some degree to watch what we say in here too.
Agreed, which is one of the reasons I suggested not allowing admins here - but clearly I'm in the minority on that point.
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Any admins who want to work actively with the community will need professional training to learn how to communicate effectively via social media. Especially because a very large part of the community does not have English as a first language.
A lot of nuances of English are simply not understood by a huge number of people. I used to point that out many times when I was working with the German language forum.
It looks like 2 years and various s**storms later suggestions by Michael and me are being read with a more open mind.
Right now it is just a shadow of what it use to be.
That is right!
It is very important that forum admins can look a bit beyond the limitations of their native language. The agencies are operating in a global environment and it is not smart to convey your messages in "Calgary slang", that is widely not understood out there in the wider world. Lobo, since we are now talking about him, is especially difficult to understand for us outsiders.
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Is there a reason that admins are allowed in this forum? Couldn't membership be controlled so that we don't have to worry about them butting in here too?
If you believe in freedom of speech, then they should be allowed to be here. And you have your opportunity to voice your opinion to them in neutral territory. Relish it, imo.
I inferred from Lobo's responses (and I certainly could be wrong) that if they want to can you they will. And whatever you post, they read. I almost felt like he was threatening us to some degree to watch what we say in here too.
Me too.
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...I almost felt like he was threatening us to some degree to watch what we say in here too.
I didn't get that feeling. That's part of the problem with reading forum posts, we can all interpret them a different way. It's easier to tell what people mean when you can hear their voice. It would also save time typing. So perhaps forums should switch to voice clips :)
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Any admins who want to work actively with the community will need professional training to learn how to communicate effectively via social media. Especially because a very large part of the community does not have English as a first language.
I have never seen a moderator in a forum who is publicly putting people down, humiliating them, threatening them, patronizing them and what not. He argues with people and as soon as they dare to talk back they get banned. Also people get banned for saying absolutely nothing wrong. The constant locking of threads is also a moderation I have not seen before.
Thats some weird moderation, and if thats how they are trained or because of lack of training, then all that is said about IS, holds water.
The place is broken, lobo needs to be banned and IS needs to be locked.
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Is there a reason that admins are allowed in this forum? Couldn't membership be controlled so that we don't have to worry about them butting in here too?
If you believe in freedom of speech, then they should be allowed to be here. And you have your opportunity to voice your opinion to them in neutral territory. Relish it, imo.
I inferred from Lobo's responses (and I certainly could be wrong) that if they want to can you they will. And whatever you post, they read. I almost felt like he was threatening us to some degree to watch what we say in here too.
Me too.
Another one here.
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It was funny to see Christian posting on the istock forum while serving another ban here :) I wonder how many people that are banned here post there? Perhaps they should start a banned from MSG club?
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Basically what he is saying is that IS is aware of all the pain they are causing their own contributors but choose to do nothing about it.
Look what has come of the google deal revolt. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
If I ran a company and saw this much heartache I would make changes. But thats just me.
I'll bet you're not rich though, are you? ;)
No I am not, but you can make a lot of money whilst running a decent company.
The global company I work for now has called for 2013 to be the year to fix the top 15 pain points from a list they accumulated over the last two years, with customer and employee complaints. Money is no object, unlimited budget. And every time the top one pain point has been fixed, they add the next one to the bottom of the list, until the list is empty. That creates trust and motivation and the company is doing better then ever and everybody wants to hit their targets and then some. Its a great vibe to work in.
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It was funny to see Christian posting on the istock forum while serving another ban here :) I wonder how many people that are banned here post there? Perhaps they should start a banned from MSG club?
LMFAO !!!!! ;D
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Any admins who want to work actively with the community will need professional training to learn how to communicate effectively via social media. Especially because a very large part of the community does not have English as a first language.
So, maybe Istockphoto staff training is conducted in North Korea right now.
Less sarcasm, threats and jokes might be a good start for new Forums.
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Basically what he is saying is that IS is aware of all the pain they are causing their own contributors but choose to do nothing about it.
Look what has come of the google deal revolt. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
If I ran a company and saw this much heartache I would make changes. But thats just me.
I'll bet you're not rich though, are you? ;)
No I am not, but you can make a lot of money whilst running a decent company.
The global company I work for now has called for 2013 to be the year to fix the top 15 pain points from a list they accumulated over the last two years, with customer and employee complaints. Money is no object, unlimited budget. And every time the top one pain point has been fixed, they add the next one to the bottom of the list, until the list is empty. That creates trust and motivation and the company is doing better then ever and everybody wants to hit their targets and then some. Its a great vibe to work in.
If only others could realise that! However, it's been discussed many times on the IS forum, and yet here we are.
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Lobo, although I spend most of my time reading post from other artist, (here on MSG along with iStock and others) I always wonder about your heavy-handed responses. Why in the world would a large corporation let someone assail their contributors and suppliers with such anti-social abuse. As for Cobalt's assertion of the good cop bad cop routine, Why would you feel it necessary to game anyone on a forum? Some of us are quite intelligent.
I've actually added it to my facebook status. Terrific work. I think maybe you should consider a caption contest. I would be more than happy to participate in that.
As for this Banned from iStock Club: I understand. It's easy for you to speak about your experience without also taking into consideration the number of times I have had to contact people, delete posts, try as best as I can to rationalize why it's important for people to remain civil. I'm not perfect. I rise to the bait left out for me occasionally.
These are public forums too. We can all read them. Contributor Relations(who tend to get the worst of the frustration - see the deactivation notice thread you have going), Client Relations(they get the calls that should probably be going to Contributor Relations- no phone support is horrible, I know) and the few buyers who come in to see what is going on here. Everyone sees everything.
Anyhoo, I've already made it clear in the forum restructure thread that anyone who would like to discuss having their privileges reinstated are more than welcome to contact me via site mail on iStock. Clearly, not all of you have site mail either. So I suspect your best bet is via a support ticket.
Thanks, folks. Don't hate the player, hate the game ;)
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I have never seen a moderator in a forum who is publicly putting people down, humiliating them, threatening them, patronizing them and what not. He argues with people and as soon as they dare to talk back they get banned.
Oh, I have seen it countless times across the internet in all manners of forums. The internet is the ultimate power trip, particularly because you almost never encounter the person you are attacking in real life. I call it "Keyboard Muscles."
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The internet is the ultimate power trip, particularly because you almost never encounter the person you are attacking in real life.
AH! Maybe that's the real reason for the decline in iStockalypses.... They wouldn't want to have to face certain people in real life, I think.
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The internet is the ultimate power trip, particularly because you almost never encounter the person you are attacking in real life.
AH! Maybe that's the real reason for the decline in iStockalypses.... They wouldn't want to have to face certain people in real life, I think.
I thought it was because RM took his yellow bucket with him when he left.
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I guess that's part of the problem. Everyone wants to make things about me. Well it's about all of us. Yes, this is my account. I'm Lobo on iStock. I'm the horrible monster.
Maybe leaf will let you speak your mind. I can assure you I've read plenty of terrible things in my 11 years with iStock so you won't hurt my feelings. One thing you might consider: swearing and cursing at me might only go towards proving my point as to why you were banned in the first place.
As for the REASONS people are typically banned: it comes down to civility. There are people who seem to have an interesting way of omitting certain facts related to the loss of their privileges. I won't call people out but if you consider the inherent tone present here it might be easier to understand.
These forums have lurkers too. People who would like to participate are hesitant because there is rarely anything constructive going on. It seems to be a catch all for anger and rage. I read these forums everyday. Don't think for a second I don't.
Anyway. Have at it. I'll leave you all now and let you prove me wrong. Thanks for reading. Apologies for any grammar or spelling issue. I'm typing this on my phone.
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I agree that there is a lot of anger on MSG, but consider the position that contributors to IS and to all the other agencies are in. We are basically over a barrel and the agencies know it - play on their terms or take our marbles and go home. Contributors own and create a product that is becoming more and more a commodity every day, so our returns will shrink over time to the point that likely within a couple of years this will not be a viable industry for most. In fact, I think that MSG's existence (with all respects to Leaf) reflects the stress that contributors face in the face of this ongoing change.
While I think this change is inevitable given the technology and the global nature of the business, Istock has been the prime enabler of the acceleration of this change, so it gets the lion's share of the anger. Hopefully everyone at IS who reads this forum appreciates that.
As to the idea that there is rarely anything constructive going on MSG...
http://www.microstockgroup.com/general-stock-discussion/a-list-of-partner-programs/ (http://www.microstockgroup.com/general-stock-discussion/a-list-of-partner-programs/)
http://www.microstockgroup.com/general-stock-discussion/selling-rf-images-is-really-not-that-hard-php-developers-wanted/ (http://www.microstockgroup.com/general-stock-discussion/selling-rf-images-is-really-not-that-hard-php-developers-wanted/)
http://www.microstockgroup.com/product-resale-forum/faa-the-largest-art-site-in-the-world/ (http://www.microstockgroup.com/product-resale-forum/faa-the-largest-art-site-in-the-world/)
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I'm a member of many forums on many topics. I've never encountered anyone like him and I don't believe that he needs to act the way he does to pull off the "bad cop" routine. Most of the other forums I'm a part of are well-moderated and maintained without the attitude.
The one credit I do have to give the guy, though, is that he has the unfortunate task of moderating a forum for a company that has become especially stingy with information. I think that other microstock company forums have less combative environments because they still talk directly with contributors and don't rely on the forums alone to have a conversation. I can get people from SS on the phone. Bigstock, despite the poor launch of the subscription program, is at least responding to emails and answering some questions. istock has reduced their contributor communications to forums and one-way emails, putting added strain on the forum system as the sole means of a 2-way conversation.
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The one credit I do have to give the guy, though, is that he has the unfortunate task of moderating a forum for a company that has become especially stingy with information.
And increasingly 'take, take, take'.
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:D
I've been banned from forums and sitemail since the RC debacle.
This whole recent situation sucks for everyone, such a pity. I guess they now just want content, not contributors.
BTW, for anyone leaving but not closing their accounts, iStock was still licensing some of my images more than a year after I had deactivated them from the site, just something to keep an eye on.
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BTW, for anyone leaving but not closing their accounts, iStock was still licensing some of my images more than a year after I had deactivated them from the site, just something to keep an eye on.
Through the PP? (or how were buyers finding them?)
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Very low prices, something like 8 cents for XSmall or some such, so I'd guess partner program, even though I think I pulled everything out of the partner programs well before I deactivated images. In any case, those were supposed to have a 90 day removal timeframe and the sales were far beyond that. I've got screenshots around somewhere, but I'm not feeling all that motivated to find them :) If anyone else has seen something similar, message me and we can compare notes.
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I've got screenshots around somewhere, but I'm not feeling all that motivated to find them :)
No, no: I wasn't disputing what you said; I've heard often that it can take many months to get images removed from the PP and was assuming that must be it, unless you had discovered something else.
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I've actually added it to my facebook status. Terrific work. I think maybe you should consider a caption contest. I would be more than happy to participate in that.
As for this Banned from iStock Club: I understand. It's easy for you to speak about your experience without also taking into consideration the number of times I have had to contact people, delete posts, try as best as I can to rationalize why it's important for people to remain civil. I'm not perfect. I rise to the bait left out for me occasionally.
These are public forums too. We can all read them. Contributor Relations(who tend to get the worst of the frustration - see the deactivation notice thread you have going), Client Relations(they get the calls that should probably be going to Contributor Relations- no phone support is horrible, I know) and the few buyers who come in to see what is going on here. Everyone sees everything.
Anyhoo, I've already made it clear in the forum restructure thread that anyone who would like to discuss having their privileges reinstated are more than welcome to contact me via site mail on iStock. Clearly, not all of you have site mail either. So I suspect your best bet is via a support ticket.
Thanks, folks. Don't hate the player, hate the game ;)
I dont hate, lobo, I just dont understand why you banned me, anyway, you have your own reasons. I dont hate the company either because it feeds me. I just dont like to be censored. I grew up in Spain when Franco had his dictatorship, and a lot of my images and comments were censored then, And I suffered terrible consecuences because that.
Therefore, I feel frustrated when I get censored because a comment I made sayins that the API thing was too complex for me. I never insulted anyone, never, neither in forums, neither in real life.
I understand you have your reasons, therefore I do not hate you nor dislike you.
I just dont feel like posting anymore in a place where I was banned unfairly.
Just to let you know, there are no bad feelings. It is not the end of the world for anyone for being banned.
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There are 42 microstock agencies listed on the right side of this page and only 1 thread about being banned from 1 site. IStock. What does that tell us about fairness and expression?
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.
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Yup and from SS too (there was a spate of bannings following the thread about the last change in commission structure there too)
I think we all have to accept that the IStock forums are dead as far as communicating with management goes. They are a publicity tool for the company and are kept pristine for that reason. Anyone making a mess is quickly swept away.
Anything productive, such as organized responses to policy changes will have to get discussed on MSG.
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There is probably a big difference between getting a ban at SS, DT, FT or IS...
... at least at the 3 first ones, you don't get insulted or threaten by a rude and impolite moderator.
Yup and from SS too (there was a spate of bannings following the thread about the last change in commission structure there too)
I think we all have to accept that the IStock forums are dead as far as communicating with management goes. They are a publicity tool for the company and are kept pristine for that reason. Anyone making a mess is quickly swept away.
Anything productive, such as organized responses to policy changes will have to get discussed on MSG.
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Absolutely, I never understood why it was necessary to throw an insult or belittling comment when dishing out a ban or locking a thread. It is going out of your way to make people resentful, why foster that feeling of impotence when you can't even reply?
I can only guess it's a power trip, and I'm not sure why it has been tolerated by management for so long.
Maybe because no one else would do the job?
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I think it's fair to say that istock has taken a lot of adverse, sometimes even insulting or near insulting comments oh their forums (I mean the ones that stand, not the ones deleted). Take the RC system threads, or the google deal threads as example. I don't think many business (including micro stock business) would allow that on their own boards. I'm not giving an opinion on if such comments are right or wrong, just stating a fact.
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Just crazy~
http://seanlockephotography.com/2013/02/11/a-change-in-things/ (http://seanlockephotography.com/2013/02/11/a-change-in-things/)
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Yep, I get to join the club ;) ...
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Just crazy~
[url]http://seanlockephotography.com/2013/02/11/a-change-in-things/[/url] ([url]http://seanlockephotography.com/2013/02/11/a-change-in-things/[/url])
Holy...
Good luck to you, Sean. No one deserves to be treated like that. All the best to you, looking forward to whatever comes next for you and I'm sure you'll come out of this better off.
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Yep, I get to join the club ;) ...
You are the LAST person to be in this group, I thought.... times have changed
Good luck.
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Dear Sean, that is nearly unbelievable! I am really shocked. But I am sure this will turn out as a very bad day for the iStock-section at Getty Images. And I really hope this turns out really great for you in the future! All the best!
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I put a comment on your blog. My last paragraph bears repeating here.
You have boatloads of talent and are not afraid of hard work. There’s only one loser in this situation and it isn’t you.
They are so in the weeds on this one
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Just crazy~
[url]http://seanlockephotography.com/2013/02/11/a-change-in-things/[/url] ([url]http://seanlockephotography.com/2013/02/11/a-change-in-things/[/url])
Pathetic that they would blame Sean for their problems with contributors. I deleted my files as a direct result of Getty's own actions.
At least Sean can look himself in the mirror, something Getty decision makers should have trouble doing each morning. That is if they have a conscience at all and based on the way they conduct business it is safe to assume do not.
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Yep, I get to join the club ;) ...
Wow, this is really remarkable and very short sighted on the part of istock from so many levels. I guess you have some work to do converting your personal website from a referral engine to a sales engine. I hope the short term impact isn't too harsh, but your long term outlook is great...
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Sorry to hear this has been forced on you. Crazy
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Thank-you Sean for all of your guidance at iStock over the years! You have helped me more than you know. Blue skies are ahead of you my friend and you will be happier.
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Sean, I can only reiterate what others have already said. Good luck to you, I know you will do well. The door closed but I think you will have many other doors opening.
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Yep, I get to join the club ;) ...
Well, as exclusive contributors, there goes our biggest advocate. This is now real. This changes EVERYTHING.
Sean, that was a raw deal they dealt you and I know you'll rebound brilliantly!
Best!
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I'm not banned at istock (yet). Dare I even try to start a thread over there about Sean's departure?
:)
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Holy carp, thats shocking.... spiteful. That cant be good for them either. They will claw back 20% on Seans sales, but why axe your top player? It seems more like a power trip. How dare a single person talk back to Getty? Seems like they are digging their own grave.
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Holy carp, thats shocking.... spiteful. That cant be good for them either. They will claw back 20% on Seans sales, but why axe your top player? It seems more like a power trip. How dare a single person talk back to Getty? Seems like they are digging their own grave.
They won't claw back a sou on Sean's sales. They won't be selling any of them so won't be earning a penny off his work.
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Holy carp, thats shocking.... spiteful. That cant be good for them either. They will claw back 20% on Seans sales, but why axe your top player? It seems more like a power trip. How dare a single person talk back to Getty? Seems like they are digging their own grave.
They won't claw back a sou on Sean's sales. They won't be selling any of them so won't be earning a penny off his work.
Is he axed from the site ????? I thought from Exclusive status.
Suicide. Nuts. Its definitely a power trip. Arrogance will be their Achilles' heel.
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Is he axed from the site ????? I thought from Exclusive status.
Suicide. Nuts. Its definitely a power trip. Arrogance will be their Achilles' heel.
From the site, with 30 days notice:
http://seanlockephotography.com/2013/02/11/a-change-in-things/#comment-6618 (http://seanlockephotography.com/2013/02/11/a-change-in-things/#comment-6618)
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It must have been that post a week or so back by Lobo saying he was a fan of Sean and was advocating for Sean with TPTB.
Sort of like a Kiss of Death.
>:( >:( >:(
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^^ LMAO! I sprayed coffee on my monitor! ;D
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Calgary Canada, 11 February 2013: In a recent disclosure from someone close to the source, but unable to speak publicly, iStock Photo has been taken over by a HAL 9000 computer which was installed as AI to run the operations. Istock at this juncture has been unable to power down the unit, which has started calling itself "Lobo". All attempts to reign in the out of control, and now insane, power hungry computer have failed and it appears to be heading towards a self destruct suicide mission.
Is he axed from the site ????? I thought from Exclusive status.
Suicide. Nuts. Its definitely a power trip. Arrogance will be their Achilles' heel.
From the site, with 30 days notice:
[url]http://seanlockephotography.com/2013/02/11/a-change-in-things/#comment-6618[/url] ([url]http://seanlockephotography.com/2013/02/11/a-change-in-things/#comment-6618[/url])
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^^^^ LMFAO !!! 8)
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Is he axed from the site ????? I thought from Exclusive status.
Suicide. Nuts. Its definitely a power trip. Arrogance will be their Achilles' heel.
From the site, with 30 days notice:
[url]http://seanlockephotography.com/2013/02/11/a-change-in-things/#comment-6618[/url] ([url]http://seanlockephotography.com/2013/02/11/a-change-in-things/#comment-6618[/url])
What they've done is to send out a very clear intimidating message to all contributors over the Google Drive deal.
It looks like they are clearing the way to push ahead with more 'cloak and dagger' third party licensing deals.
Quite chilling really.
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I saw somewhere that Rob Sylvan has been given the boot too. Doesn't he have something to do with Stocksy? I'm guessing that's what the real issue is.
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I saw somewhere that Rob Sylvan has been given the boot too. Doesn't he have something to do with Stocksy? I'm guessing that's what the real issue is.
I'm guessing that is the real thing they will point to as being the cause (i.e. the real excuse rather than the real issue)
The site isn't even up and running yet, if they really did just boot him for talking with a group of people about a possible future venture (that in any case would have meant terminating his exclusivity before going ahead) that would be just as bad a reason as any.
How many other IStock contributors actually run competing agencies, I can think of two off the top of my head, and they haven't been sacked!
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So why did they boot Rob?
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Istock is clearly no longer in the business of maintaining the best quality stock photo library (ie, serving their customers) and now in the doomed business of protecting themselves from (phantom?) threats. It's a business model of opacity and paranoia and there's a long string of businesses that have ended up in this plance - they don't tend to survive. The information is too open, and eventually customers, no matter how loyal, will figure it out and move on.
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So why did they boot Rob?
Good point, but I still don't get why they didn't boot other people already running stock sites.
Unless they were using IStock sitemail to organize the new site or something?
Alternatively, maybe they wanted Sean out of their hair over the Google and Microsoft stuff and just sacrificed Rob to be consistent with their excuse.
Who knows, I can't think of a reason that isn't utterly nuts on their part.
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So why did they boot Rob?
Rob said he asked them for a reason and got a return e-mail citing the ASA that gives them the right to terminate for an undefined reason
"we have elected to terminate your contributor account on notice to you with no identified reason under the terms of the Agreement"
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So why did they boot Rob?
Rob said he asked them for a reason and got a return e-mail citing the ASA that gives them the right to terminate for an undefined reason
"we have elected to terminate your contributor account on notice to you with no identified reason under the terms of the Agreement"
Probably they picked on Rob because he is an admin on the Stocksy facebook site. More than ever I want Stocksy to work and totally take over from IS.
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Looks like Getty has their own version of NDAA, and is engaged in targeted killings of their own citizens for reasons that can't be made public.
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All this is great advertising for Stocksy...
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Yep, I get to join the club ;) ...
Welcome in the club.
Since it is me who started the thread I hereby declare you Member of Honor in the banned from iStockphoto club.
And good luck with your plan B(eta).
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Lobo
Thanks, Cybernesco. I get to now show what is going to happen if people don't read what I post. Enjoy your ban.
[url]http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=350913&messageid=6830693[/url] ([url]http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=350913&messageid=6830693[/url])
That is so unprofessional.
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jsmithzz started a dedicated thread to Sean's account termination
http://www.microstockgroup.com/istockphoto-com/sjlocke-was-just-booted-from-istock/ (http://www.microstockgroup.com/istockphoto-com/sjlocke-was-just-booted-from-istock/)
Discussion about that should go there.
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Lobo
Thanks, Cybernesco. I get to now show what is going to happen if people don't read what I post. Enjoy your ban.
[url]http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=350913&messageid=6830693[/url] ([url]http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=350913&messageid=6830693[/url])
That is so unprofessional.
I wonder how fast they have approved Lobo candidature for the job, not even going to think what were the requirements, oh iStock
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Lobo
Thanks, Cybernesco. I get to now show what is going to happen if people don't read what I post. Enjoy your ban.
[url]http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=350913&messageid=6830693[/url] ([url]http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=350913&messageid=6830693[/url])
That is so unprofessional.
I wonder how fast they have approved Lobo candidature for the job, not even going to think what were the requirements, oh iStock
Once a year, every year, apparently.
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I don't believe Lobo is the problem, just a symptom
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I don't believe Lobo is the problem, just a symptom
Indeed, he has an unpleasant remit; but he can still do it with civility as UncleRob did.
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I got banned for calling Lobo a bully. And because the site had code problems my ban didn't work so, I posted loads more, which really infuriated him. Then some weeks later I thought my ban was up as I had access to the forums again so, I started writing ordinary posts in Audio section and Lobo, insanely, banned me for a longer time period for writing in the forums based on me having access because iStock's lack of coding expertise enabled me to; istock is quite illogical.
Globalsounds got banned for sticking up for me and her ban lasted over a year.
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I don't believe Lobo is the problem, just a symptom
That is right. A symptom.
BUT he is moderating the delicate contributors forums in an international multi million dollar company, and not a forum for 22 bushcrafters in Ohio, and the last thing he should do is to annoy people and cause the company losses.
Actually what he does compares to judges in big international sports events such as the world cup in soccer, and the judges there make sure to use a formalized and easy to understand language and try to avoid randomness and personal involvement.
He annoyed me, and was one of the reasons I withdrew my pictures, and coming here in a half threathening way is utterly unprofessional and disgusting. I cannot believe istockphoto lets him do that. But then again there are many things about istockphoto I cannot believe. Sick company with many symptoms.
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I've been banned two years ago and this guy Lobo sounds like he definitely worked too long in that place, he should better breath some fresh hair and he's clearly unfit for public relations, i've never seen such unpolite and offensive answers from a forum moderator in my life, if these are the standards at Getty it says it all about what kind of company it is, his unprofessionality is simply shocking, he would be fired on the spot in any other decent company, guess he's got his ass well covered ?
Somebody should assemble a list of his wrongdoings and write to istock's CEO in order to get gim booted out.
Seriously, he must have banned even dozens of buyers as well, imagine how much money istock lost because of this psycho.
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I've been banned two years ago and this guy Lobo sounds like he definitely worked too long in that place, he should better breath some fresh hair and he's clearly unfit for public relations, i've never seen such unpolite and offensive answers from a forum moderator in my life, if these are the standards at Getty it says it all about what kind of company it is, his unprofessionality is simply shocking, he would be fired on the spot in any other decent company, guess he's got his ass well covered ?
Somebody should assemble a list of his wrongdoings and write to istock's CEO in order to get gim booted out.
Seriously, he must have banned even dozens of buyers as well, imagine how much money istock lost because of this psycho.
++111
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I've been banned two years ago and this guy Lobo sounds like he definitely worked too long in that place, he should better breath some fresh hair and he's clearly unfit for public relations, i've never seen such unpolite and offensive answers from a forum moderator in my life, if these are the standards at Getty it says it all about what kind of company it is, his unprofessionality is simply shocking, he would be fired on the spot in any other decent company, guess he's got his ass well covered ?
Somebody should assemble a list of his wrongdoings and write to istock's CEO in order to get gim booted out.
Seriously, he must have banned even dozens of buyers as well, imagine how much money istock lost because of this psycho.
Apparently he's been there 11 years. Many people have left or been booted out of IS in that time, and he is still there. Therefore, he is giving them what they want.
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I think that Lobo may actually be one of the good guys. (I know that probably sounds mad and that I will be voted down for saying this :) ). I think he often stops people from saying stuff which would get them booted from the site.
My hunch would be that the guy who plays Lobo will probably not want to play the role for much longer. Perhaps I'm wrong.
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My hunch would be that the guy who plays Lobo will probably not want to play the role for much longer. Perhaps I'm wrong.
Well, if he bans almost everybody and scares the rest, then I am afraid his position as a moderator may become unsustainable... What's the point in moderating cbarnes's soliloquies?
I think in one year there will be no Mr. Lobo at istock. Either he quits or they close the forums or he'll become unsustainable...
But you are right, perhaps he is a good guy outside of istock, who knows...
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I think that Lobo may actually be one of the good guys. (I know that probably sounds mad and that I will be voted down for saying this :) ). I think he often stops people from saying stuff which would get them booted from the site.
My hunch would be that the guy who plays Lobo will probably not want to play the role for much longer. Perhaps I'm wrong.
I think you're probably right. Everyone I know who has actually met him seem to like him and he's big buddies with Rob Sylvan too isn't he? I've had countless site mail warnings from him but have no complaints personally. I have been surprised about some folk who have been banned though. I guess he has less patience with some than others, like most of us probably do. Yes, he has been unusually snarky at times recently but I get the impression that they're under a bit of pressure at IS nowadays. I'm sure they'd love to get back to the happy-clappy days of yesteryear but the mothership keeps pulling the rug from underneath them. Note that it wasn't an Istock manager who terminated Sean's account. I think that's very revealing about what's going on.
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The whole web 2.0 concept is a double edge sword for businesses.
The trend i'm seeing now is forums are usually kept only for tech support questions, anything else now goes straight to the company FB or Twitter page.
I'm sure istock will just close the forums before or later, business-wise they're just a pain in the ass and a face loss.
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The whole web 2.0 concept is a double edge sword for businesses.
Nonsense. What is this 'web 2.0 concept' you speak of? It doesn't even really exist, as far as I can tell, let alone be a 'double edged sword' (or any other type of sword) for business or anything else. Explain yourself in words that have some meaning.
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The whole web 2.0 concept is a double edge sword for businesses.
Nonsense. What is this 'web 2.0 concept' you speak of? It doesn't even really exist, as far as I can tell, let alone be a 'double edged sword' (or any other type of sword) for business or anything else. Explain yourself in words that have some meaning.
I took it to mean that crowdsourcing can make a site, as it did Istock, but it can also bring it down if/when the crowd turns against it, as it has Istock. Just my interpretation. Maybe he meant something else.
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I took it to mean that crowdsourcing can make a site, as it did Istock, but it can also bring it down if/when the crowd turns against it, as it has Istock. Just my interpretation. Maybe he meant something else.
I think quoting 'web 2.0' is just one of those silly, nonsensical expressions that people use to make themselves appear clever when they haven't actually got any meaningful insight regarding the issue in question.
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I think quoting 'web 2.0' is just one of those silly, nonsensical expressions that people use to make themselves appear clever when they haven't actually got any meaningful insight regarding the issue in question.
web 2.0 is a buzzword universally meaning "social, interactivity".
why is IS web 2.0 ? forums, blogs, each image linked to his author, his author has a personal profile with a list of friends, personal mini blog, you can write to him, he can store and share his lightboxes, etc, it's a virtual community, and technically a barebone social network with e-commerce capabilities.
getty is not web 2.0, all you have is a typical e-commerce web site, no public forums either, just a corporate blog eventually and a FB page, same for Corbis and same for Alamy apart alamy having a heavily censored forum and a silly blog + FB page + twitter.
so, indeed two different worlds but managing such a big community is not easy and it can easily backfire, small startups love web 2.0, big companies hate it as they have too much to lose from discussing in public their biz.
got it ?
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Web 2.0 is a decade plus old term that has pretty much lost all its meaning and isn't really used by anyone anymore, except on the Alamy forum, and now here (yay!)
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I think that Lobo may actually be one of the good guys. (I know that probably sounds mad and that I will be voted down for saying this :) ). I think he often stops people from saying stuff which would get them booted from the site.
My hunch would be that the guy who plays Lobo will probably not want to play the role for much longer. Perhaps I'm wrong.
I think you're probably right. Everyone I know who has actually met him seem to like him and he's big buddies with Rob Sylvan too isn't he? I've had countless site mail warnings from him but have no complaints personally. I have been surprised about some folk who have been banned though. I guess he has less patience with some than others, like most of us probably do. Yes, he has been unusually snarky at times recently but I get the impression that they're under a bit of pressure at IS nowadays. I'm sure they'd love to get back to the happy-clappy days of yesteryear but the mothership keeps pulling the rug from underneath them. Note that it wasn't an Istock manager who terminated Sean's account. I think that's very revealing about what's going on.
I think so too. And if you remember the forums way back in the day they were pretty snarky. Back when the inspectors and admins and owners of the site would all chit chat in the forums there were a lot of people who got their feelings hurt. For me lobo seems almost nostalgic of a bygone era. I personally like his snark and feel he is one of the good guys working for a company who is spreading him way too thin. I think I would be as sad the day Lobo leaves as I am sad that Sean got booted.
ETA: I have met Sean and think he is a great upstanding individual. I really dont like how they handled his departure/google deal and think they could have done a MUCH better job at making allies with Sean and contributors by being more forthcoming with information and transparency with how they deal with our files.
I also believe they are too ban happy in the forums... I just think that Lobo is the face of that and not specifically to blame.
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Seriously, he must have banned even dozens of buyers as well, imagine how much money istock lost because of this psycho.
Do you have any evidence for this statement? I bet a month IS earnings you don't.
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Web 2.0 is a decade plus old term that has pretty much lost all its meaning and isn't really used by anyone anymore, except on the Alamy forum, and now here (yay!)
I wonder why we haven't had Web 3.0? Is it going to be like Firefox? They stuck with 3 for years and now their on 18.
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I got banned for calling Lobo a bully.
Between the comments I had deleted and his responses to others in the past couple days, I can't think of a better or more accurate description.
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It has nothing to do with if Lobo is a bully or not.
He is just another istock asset. - or lack of the same.
It has to do with the messages istock conveys.
Transmitted by Lobo:
"We do not care about you".
"And it is us who write history".
OK, then, fine.
Then we do not care about you either.
And we do write our version of history.
If I were Lobo, I would pay attention to those nightmares that occur early in the morning just before you wake up.
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I would never have thought I'd see the day where Peebert seemed like a rational and reasonable alternative to forum moderation. Guess times really have changed!
Before reading this thread, I thought nobody could be as bad as Peebert. I now see how wrong I was.
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Transmitted by Lobo:
"We do not care about you".
"And it is us who write history".
.
hahaha !
i would like to drink a beer with this guy, is he for real ? must be really a bad job.
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Before reading this thread, I thought nobody could be as bad as Peebert. I now see how wrong I was.
What are you talking about? Peebert was as sharp as two giant sharp things and very entertaining. It was a shame when he left. The IS forums in those days were a vibrant source of wit, repartee and useful information. Quel contraste.
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Before reading this thread, I thought nobody could be as bad as Peebert. I now see how wrong I was.
What are you talking about? Peebert was as sharp as two giant sharp things and very entertaining. It was a shame when he left. The IS forums in those days were a vibrant source of wit, repartee and useful information. Quel contraste.
To an extent I agree with what you are saying as he made me laugh many times but he could also be extremely nasty.
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Before reading this thread, I thought nobody could be as bad as Peebert. I now see how wrong I was.
What are you talking about? Peebert was as sharp as two giant sharp things and very entertaining. It was a shame when he left. The IS forums in those days were a vibrant source of wit, repartee and useful information. Quel contraste.
A moderator shouldn't be the source of that wit. I agree that the forum was much better in those days, as was Istock in general, but I considered Peebert very unprofessional and juvenile in some of his comments.
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how pathetic, I wonder what makes iStock and this "Lobo" thinks he is state of the art, whatever really, it was maybe the 4th or 5th time I enter a discussion there because I do know my place, sure won't miss a thing I never appreciated, that said I wish long life to all exclusives that are good sheeps ;)
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WeVC2BOOPE4/UTJYDiO7HZI/AAAAAAAABmk/2d12KUubIYI/s1600/is.JPG)
(never sent him a message over iStock or other place)
Dear Luis,
The administration team at iStockphoto has revoked your forum privileges. Comments from iStockphoto Administrators (if any):
As per sitemail:
I appreciate you think trolling me is going to gain you some kind of respect within some \"other community\" of people but you will find that the majority of people within these forums really don\'t care. The people who do participate find the perpetual distraction a tiresome affair and for the record I get plenty of site mail from the lurkers who don\'t post who appreciate it when I remove people like you from the discussions.
I wish you well in your future endeavors. If you ever find yourself interested in returning to the forums please feel free to contact me.
Best of luck to you.
Regards,
Lobo
If you would like to discuss this with client relations, please email [email protected].
Best Regards,
iStockphoto.com
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Lobo is analogous to a defense attorney representing a client that he knows is guilty. Everything out of his mouth reeks of desperation.
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And just to say, if you do contact help@ you'll probably never get a reply.
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he is low, pretty much that is it, I understand his job but being nasty and unfair doesn't suit his or any other job (I see cashier workers happy all day long and I give back the smile even if I am upset with something), questioning low uploaders like he did is unfair, why doesn't he talk about the ones having constant uploads during 4 or 5 years like fotoVoyager and feeling huge drops? right....
a total joke, Lobo and all iStock contributors that don't want to understand the place they are giving their sweat every day
the only thing I like reading at iStock forums is: I am going to leave exclusivity this month (even if it will hurt my sales but hey it feels good!)
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he is low, pretty much that is it, I understand his job but being nasty and unfair doesn't suit his or any other job (I see cashier workers happy all day long and I give back the smile even if I am upset with something), questioning low uploaders like he did is unfair, why doesn't he talk about the ones having constant uploads during 4 or 5 years like fotoVoyager and feeling huge drops? right....
a total joke, Lobo and all iStock contributors that don't want to understand the place they are giving their sweat every day
the only thing I like reading at iStock forums is: I am going to leave exclusivity this month (even if it will hurt my sales but hey it feels good!)
Don't keep prodding the bear Luis (if you value your Istock income). Lobo's got his job to do.
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he is low, pretty much that is it, I understand his job but being nasty and unfair doesn't suit his or any other job (I see cashier workers happy all day long and I give back the smile even if I am upset with something), questioning low uploaders like he did is unfair, why doesn't he talk about the ones having constant uploads during 4 or 5 years like fotoVoyager and feeling huge drops? right....
a total joke, Lobo and all iStock contributors that don't want to understand the place they are giving their sweat every day
the only thing I like reading at iStock forums is: I am going to leave exclusivity this month (even if it will hurt my sales but hey it feels good!)
Don't keep prodding the bear Luis (if you value your Istock income). Lobo's got his job to do.
;) it was the 1st time I entered an iStock topic I believe (maybe 2nd) anyway don't remember other but this low attack from Lobo wasn't bright, why don't they quote the big guys loses? whatever really, I don't lose my time thinking of iStock
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Sorry in advance for the offtopic.
I'm not actually in Istock, but in a way thank GOD I'm not. Is it so bad out there in those forums? I mean, is it so childish that no one can give an opinion about an update? And I tough that companies were formed by professionals since they are "demanding" about our work. From a newbie perspective, I can only say that the order of things with is "Istock created by Bruce > Grows greatly > Is fantastic to contributors > Getty Buys it out > Bruce starts feeling the pressure and leaves (Saying its about the family) > The new COO in a backstabbing act along with Getty gives away images to goggle > Lobo (In Portuguese means wolf) starts persuing anyone that speaks against the dictatorship in Istock (Specially the ones that create the content that they sell) > Banning party starts to arouse around the forum > Sales start to decrease (Magically) > Bruce creates Stocksy > Stocksy starts to grow exponentially> (Entering a theoretical part, warning spoilers ahead :P ) Getty buys Stocksy > Stop > Repeat"
Dunno just my way of seeing things and I hope that things don't repeat. Correct me If I am wrong.
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Wasn't it Pink Shirt Day a couple of days ago? No pink shirts in that place.
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Wasn't it Pink Shirt Day a couple of days ago? No pink shirts in that place.
I have no pink shirt at iStock ;D
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Wasn't it Pink Shirt Day a couple of days ago? No pink shirts in that place.
I have no pink shirt at iStock ;D
I hadn't heard of Pink Shirt Day... too effing funny!!
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Lobo is a strange creature - very needy - definitely gets a buzz from putting people down who can only respond at risk of further insults (or expulsion from forums - Putin style lol) - kinda like a boxing match with only one boxer wearing gloves. - could it be his job at istock is the only place he feels adequate? Obviously management supports his routine and - and he hasn't concerns about karma. ;)
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Karma is real, Karma is out there. He will get his share. Believe me. I have seen it happen over and over. Karma will find its course.
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One of many annoying factors that made me leave istockphoto.com was the improfessional moderation of their forums.
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Management doesn't read the forum, so probably doesn't have a clue about his routine.
Lobo is a strange creature - very needy - definitely gets a buzz from putting people down who can only respond at risk of further insults (or expulsion from forums - Putin style lol) - kinda like a boxing match with only one boxer wearing gloves. - could it be his job at istock is the only place he feels adequate? Obviously management supports his routine and - and he hasn't concerns about karma. ;)
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Seriously, he must have banned even dozens of buyers as well, imagine how much money istock lost because of this psycho.
Do you have any evidence for this statement? I bet a month IS earnings you don't.
They do ban buyers if they think they are causing enough "trouble" (aka telling the truth).
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Seriously, he must have banned even dozens of buyers as well, imagine how much money istock lost because of this psycho.
Do you have any evidence for this statement? I bet a month IS earnings you don't.
They do ban buyers if they think they are causing enough "trouble" (aka telling the truth).
Thats unreal. So basically as a buyer you go in there to complain and you get banned?? Thats unf^#king believable.
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Seriously, he must have banned even dozens of buyers as well, imagine how much money istock lost because of this psycho.
Do you have any evidence for this statement? I bet a month IS earnings you don't.
They do ban buyers if they think they are causing enough "trouble" (aka telling the truth).
Thats unreal. So basically as a buyer you go in there to complain and you get banned?? Thats unf^#king believable.
What's unreal? You've obviously never been in business. All sorts of businesses ban customers every day for a wide variety of reasons (but mainly because they consider them to be more trouble than they are worth). The other way is simply to quote so high they they volunteer to take their business elsewhere. I've even known someone who got banned by Amazon because they were forever returning stuff.
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Seriously, he must have banned even dozens of buyers as well, imagine how much money istock lost because of this psycho.
Do you have any evidence for this statement? I bet a month IS earnings you don't.
They do ban buyers if they think they are causing enough "trouble" (aka telling the truth).
Thats unreal. So basically as a buyer you go in there to complain and you get banned?? Thats unf^#king believable.
What's unreal? You've obviously never been in business. All sorts of businesses ban customers every day for a wide variety of reasons (but mainly because they consider them to be more trouble than they are worth). The other way is simply to quote so high they they volunteer to take their business elsewhere. I've even known someone who got banned by Amazon because they were forever returning stuff.
I know more about customer service then you ever will ;-) You can take me up on that one. The examples you are mentioning are not really applying to buyers expressing their discontent in a forum.
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Seriously, he must have banned even dozens of buyers as well, imagine how much money istock lost because of this psycho.
Do you have any evidence for this statement? I bet a month IS earnings you don't.
They do ban buyers if they think they are causing enough "trouble" (aka telling the truth).
Thats unreal. So basically as a buyer you go in there to complain and you get banned?? Thats unf^#king believable.
What's unreal? You've obviously never been in business. All sorts of businesses ban customers every day for a wide variety of reasons (but mainly because they consider them to be more trouble than they are worth). The other way is simply to quote so high they they volunteer to take their business elsewhere. I've even known someone who got banned by Amazon because they were forever returning stuff.
I know more about customer service then you ever will ;-) You can take me up on that one. The examples you are mentioning are not really applying to buyers expressing their discontent in a forum.
Good for you. You do your little 'customer service' thing Buddy (at McDonald's per chance?) __ and I'll do the photography.
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I bet he looks good in that Ronald McDonald outfit though.
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In my opinion it is their site, their forum, their rules. Play along or get banned. I would do the same if anyone would talk bad about me on my page or blog, whatever, especially if it was a public/customers involved one. I never read the forum rules but I am sure that there are some about not posting this or that.
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What's the point of having a forum if you ban people for telling the truth?
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What's the point of having a forum if you ban people for telling the truth?
Lobo is over his head in false ego power. Their forums but he's not moderating anything, he's just insulting and removing people. If he's supposed to be the face of istock he's more like the rear end, total ass. That's the face of the new istock.
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What's the point of having a forum if you ban people for telling the truth?
Lobo is over his head in false ego power. Their forums but he's not moderating anything, he's just insulting and removing people. If he's supposed to be the face of istock he's more like the rear end, total ass. That's the face of the new istock.
He was also the face of the older iStock; I joined just after Peebert suddenly disappeared, so I didn't have that experience.
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I am sorry ShadySue, I meant no offense, just being objective. The point of having a forum is to discuss whatever the creator of the forum wants to discuss. It is the forum of Istock. Their house their rules. I dont see Istock or any other agency as a democracy but as a business. If it's a good or a bad business that is another issue but the fact is that they dont want any bad publicity on their forum. ;)
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the fact is that they dont want any bad publicity on their forum. ;)
They have to do it all the time, on their own forum:
Sales falling
RCs being introduced.
Exclusive perks clawed back.
Indie commissions being reduced.
Promises reneged on.
Payments not being made on time.
Transfers to/from GI/PP not being made on time.
Faulty programming
How long have you got?
...
Besides, surely most people know to look outside of an internal site to find the dirt on any company. And weigh up on external sties how many company stooges are for the company, how many7 stooges for the opposition and guess the balance of information.
Life used to be simpler. :)
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TBH, I think it's the problem of the moderator not being a contributor. He's probably never had his pay cut, or pay late, or his work given away for peanuts etc., so couldn't care less.
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In my opinion it is their site, their forum, their rules. Play along or get banned. I would do the same if anyone would talk bad about me on my page or blog, whatever, especially if it was a public/customers involved one. I never read the forum rules but I am sure that there are some about not posting this or that.
"Play along or get banned" is how a lot of trouble starts, because it is an attempt to build or preserve a myth. It requires a lot of self-made sheep.
If iStock and their ilk had a little more courage they would leverage honest but civil feedback, no matter how uncomfortable, to make themselves better. And some companies do do that; excellent survival strategy.
Imagine if your immune system decided to play along with the invaders. ;)
Regards
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I am sorry ShadySue, I meant no offense, just being objective. The point of having a forum is to discuss whatever the creator of the forum wants to discuss. It is the forum of Istock. Their house their rules. I dont see Istock or any other agency as a democracy but as a business. If it's a good or a bad business that is another issue but the fact is that they dont want any bad publicity on their forum. ;)
Lirch, there is some validity in what you say but some merit has to be given to the fact that the people on the forum are the ones that make them all the dough. Somehow things have gotten skewed. A photographer or illustrator or whatever used to be able to tell there agent they weren't happy with a particular sale, or whatever without fear of reprisal. Throwing people off the forum or worse yet, deleting their portfolios just show your strength is a very nasty way to do business. There is such a thing as moral obligations. Sure you can debate exactly what should encompasses such obligations but I think it should be well within a contributors rights to say their peace, even if in perturbed manner.
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"Play along or get banned" is how a lot of trouble starts, because it is an attempt to build or preserve a myth. It requires a lot of self-made sheep.
The trouble with statements like that is they're demonstrably not true.
The 3 quotes below are from 2 pages of forum posts at IS, picked at random as I haven't time to be more thorough. If you're going to be critical of IS and Lobo, at least get it right. For the record I have been warned but never banned by Lobo, and, despite critics here, I'm not an IS lover unconditionally, but if you're going to criticise, at least do it with a degree of accuracy. Like here, most people banned from the forums have let their frothing mentalism get the better of them.
I have never met Lobo but people I know, who know him, say he's a very pleasant guy outside the forums.
"So, well done whoever makes the decisions round here." (snark)
"You've successfully killed off a viable business for photographers by making it completely, demonstrably unsustainable for exclusives.iStock, this is not good enough."
"As far as i am concerned, you are not earning your commission.Down 59% from last Feb 2012, down 27% from just last month. What the heck is going on here?"
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I don't play in iStock forum;
I have been banned from DT for nearly 2 years; 123rf and BigStock closed their forums to control negative feedback; Fotolia is infamous for control tactics --
Why should iS really give a rat's behind what we think?
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"Play along or get banned" is how a lot of trouble starts, because it is an attempt to build or preserve a myth. It requires a lot of self-made sheep.
The trouble with statements like that is they're demonstrably not true.
The 3 quotes below are from 2 pages of forum posts at IS, picked at random as I haven't time to be more thorough. If you're going to be critical of IS and Lobo, at least get it right. For the record I have been warned but never banned by Lobo, and, despite critics here, I'm not an IS lover unconditionally, but if you're going to criticise, at least do it with a degree of accuracy. Like here, most people banned from the forums have let their frothing mentalism get the better of them.
I have never met Lobo but people I know, who know him, say he's a very pleasant guy outside the forums.
"So, well done whoever makes the decisions round here." (snark)
"You've successfully killed off a viable business for photographers by making it completely, demonstrably unsustainable for exclusives.iStock, this is not good enough."
"As far as i am concerned, you are not earning your commission.Down 59% from last Feb 2012, down 27% from just last month. What the heck is going on here?"
Ok, my comment on "play along or get banned" was just that - a comment on the notion that forums in general are no place to point out your host's failings. Perhaps I should have made that clear. If you don't want candid feedback, why host the forum? No problem with insisting that the feedback should be polite.
I acknowledge that iStock does tolerate some dissent. Your selective quotes show that; with a little effort, I could easily find a counter example for each.
I stand by my assertion iStock would do better with a little more courage - and candour for that matter.
I'm not banned iStock or anywhere else, and I think civility is essential to any fruitful debate.
Regards
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Your selective quotes show that; with a little effort, I could easily find a counter example for each.
Of course, I'm not arguing that the comments are one sided in either direction, I did say I picked those quickly, at random, just to make a point. Some people were implying that dissent is not allowed, principally by Lobo, one of the forum mods. I was trying to show that wasn't true and that certain peoples anti-IS stance was tipping over the borderline into full blown swivel-eyed mentalism.
I stand by my assertion iStock would do better with a little more courage - and candour for that matter.
I would agree, there is a lot of knowledge in the forums, some of it now unfortunately removed with the departure of Sean.
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Fotolia is infamous for control tactics
http://www.fotolia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=42664 (http://www.fotolia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=42664)
that is how they appreciate our work (in this case Konrad's), 12 days and no reply or change, still at 10$ :o
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I don't play in iStock forum;
I have been banned from DT for nearly 2 years; 123rf and BigStock closed their forums to control negative feedback; Fotolia is infamous for control tactics --
Why should iS really give a rat's behind what we think?
Maybe they shouldn't care about indies. They will do what they do. I was banned for a comment in the exclusive forum. Outside the eyes of the general public and writing what I think were the sentiments of most exclusives. In fact I quoted the their own leader to show what exclusives think of istock and was merely pointing out the current situation of late stats and payment as another example of why contributors hold the opinions they think we do. The business model for istock relies heavily on exclusive content. There are other things , but exclusive content is a big part of it. Without exclusives the business model has to change, because buyers can get the same content cheaper elsewhere.
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Maybe they should care 85% more about indies?
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I am sorry ShadySue, I meant no offense, just being objective. The point of having a forum is to discuss whatever the creator of the forum wants to discuss. It is the forum of Istock. Their house their rules. I dont see Istock or any other agency as a democracy but as a business. If it's a good or a bad business that is another issue but the fact is that they dont want any bad publicity on their forum. ;)
It may be their house but its no good removing complaints. Its backfiring.
http://agsci.psu.edu/communications/web/best-practices/social-media/handling-negative-comments-or-complaints-in-social-media (http://agsci.psu.edu/communications/web/best-practices/social-media/handling-negative-comments-or-complaints-in-social-media)
Companies that do leave the complaints and respond to them in a normal on social media get a lot more credit, plus anyone visiting the site can make a decision based on whats in front of them and know what to expect from that company.
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I am sorry ShadySue, I meant no offense, just being objective. The point of having a forum is to discuss whatever the creator of the forum wants to discuss. It is the forum of Istock. Their house their rules. I dont see Istock or any other agency as a democracy but as a business. If it's a good or a bad business that is another issue but the fact is that they dont want any bad publicity on their forum. ;)
It may be their house but its no good removing complaints. Its backfiring.
[url]http://agsci.psu.edu/communications/web/best-practices/social-media/handling-negative-comments-or-complaints-in-social-media[/url] ([url]http://agsci.psu.edu/communications/web/best-practices/social-media/handling-negative-comments-or-complaints-in-social-media[/url])
Companies that do leave the complaints and respond to them in a normal on social media get a lot more credit, plus anyone visiting the site can make a decision based on whats in front of them and know what to expect from that company.
Indeed, I like that M&S and LandsEnd leave up even really bad reviews.
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No thats not what I am saying. Take my comment any way you want. I am just adding something to the discussion. Did you even read the article? and then tell me if that sounds like IS?
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No thats not what I am saying. Take my comment any way you want. I am just adding something to the discussion. Did you even read the article? and then tell me if that sounds like IS?
Did you read it?
"Do block users who abuse the site, and remove inappropriate comments (i.e., racist, derogatory, pornographic, etc.), ones that are too far off-topic, or just trying to use your site to sell a product or service."
Yes I did, conveniently bolding parts and conveniently leaving out other parts to be right, doesnt convince me tho. Sorry.
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too bad I only saw another message from Lobo just now (it is from the 2th), I haven't replied to this one too, what for?
Subject: You can\'t Dump Exclusivity as a Non exclusive.
You aren't exclusive with us, lol. I'm not sure why you are saying that you are dumping exclusivity. Anyway, maybe you can post this in the MSG forums for all my pals in there.
Anyway, take care
Lobo
ah I don't understand what he is talking about
actually Lobo needs new glasses ;D
the only thing I like reading at iStock forums is: I am going to leave exclusivity this month (even if it will hurt my sales but hey it feels good!)
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I saw that thread, but by the time I clicked on it, it had been disappeared.
I guess someone started the thread but it was locked and expunged. I don't see it now at all.
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The internet is the ultimate power trip, particularly because you almost never encounter the person you are attacking in real life.
AH! Maybe that's the real reason for the decline in iStockalypses.... They wouldn't want to have to face certain people in real life, I think.
Looks like there are going to be a lot of Lypses this year all over the world starting in the US. [url]http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=352097&page=1[/url] ([url]http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=352097&page=1[/url])
look at all the fun there, I am going exclusive oh yeah I am going! ;D
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The internet is the ultimate power trip, particularly because you almost never encounter the person you are attacking in real life.
AH! Maybe that's the real reason for the decline in iStockalypses.... They wouldn't want to have to face certain people in real life, I think.
Looks like there are going to be a lot of Lypses this year all over the world starting in the US. [url]http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=352097&page=1[/url] ([url]http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=352097&page=1[/url])
look at all the fun there, I am going exclusive oh yeah I am going! ;D
You don't need to be exclusive, you don't need to be an iStocker.
They're actively going out to recruit new contributors.
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Different tack, I guess. Sounds like recruiting, seminars and walkarounds.
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Different tack, I guess. Sounds like recruiting, seminars and walkarounds.
They're soon going to have a lot of content to replace.
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Maybe I'll see you in L.A. then.
don't tell me the getty-stone collection guy will be there too ;D
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The internet is the ultimate power trip, particularly because you almost never encounter the person you are attacking in real life.
AH! Maybe that's the real reason for the decline in iStockalypses.... They wouldn't want to have to face certain people in real life, I think.
Looks like there are going to be a lot of Lypses this year all over the world starting in the US. [url]http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=352097&page=1[/url] ([url]http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=352097&page=1[/url])
Urrgghh. Am I alone or did anyone else feel positively nauseous when reading that thread? After all that has gone on how can they possibly be so gushingly enthusiastic?
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Huh, they moved the weekly pimp threads into the new Off Topic forum. No way the buyers will find them there. Strange move.
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You ever have a boss ride you really hard, to make you quite...so he doesn't have to fire you?
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Urrgghh. Am I alone or did anyone else feel positively nauseous when reading that thread? After all that has gone on how can they possibly be so gushingly enthusiastic?
Maybe they are still making a good living from Istock income? Wanna see some nauseating woo yaying look here instead [url]http://www.microstockgroup.com/fotolia-com/mailbox-imae-has-sold-and-sold/msg303343/?topicseen#new[/url] ([url]http://www.microstockgroup.com/fotolia-com/mailbox-imae-has-sold-and-sold/msg303343/?topicseen#new[/url]) Just kidding, good for him selling a couple files every month.
Yea, I'm guessing those are mostly people who are still "doing okay".
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You ever have a boss ride you really hard, to make you quite...so he doesn't have to fire you?
It's called 'substantive dismissal'.
But I've thought the same thing, often.
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You ever have a boss ride you really hard, to make you quite...so he doesn't have to fire you?
Yep. Because most of the time, the firing is purely political and has NOTHING to do with how well one actually performs their job. Most of the time they would get their a$$es sued because the reason for firing is BS. >:(
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You ever have a boss ride you really hard, to make you quite...so he doesn't have to fire you?
Yep. Because most of the time, the firing is purely political and has NOTHING to do with how well one actually performs their job. Most of the time they would get their a$$es sued because the reason for firing is BS. >:(
Totally true where I work. Politics rule and if you aren't a fit, "we have eliminated your position." It's used all the time. Then the memo comes out: "John Doe has decided to leave the company to pursue other opportunities. We wish him well in his future endeavors." This is to say that they then spin the separation as if you were the one who decided to leave.
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Different tack, I guess. Sounds like recruiting, seminars and walkarounds.
From the Lypse thread: "In short, LA is educational and shooting but not recruitment."
We had a great 'lypse in Seattle a few years back. Several locations over several days, models at each, etc.
This sounds mostly like 20 photographers and a few models walking around (maybe I don't know what "walkabout-style" is), and another location set up for serious shooting. And if you want to finance your own shoots, they'll help direct, but I wouldn't, because then you'll be tied in to just selling them on IS.
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Do they still have that rule whereby if you go to the city (e.g. LA) a few days before and/or stay on a few days after, that you have to restrict any self-finance, self-directed images you take on these non-lypse days to the Getty family only?
That was not only ridiculous and unfair, but nigh-on impossible to police, as exclusives who live or near e.g. LA can take photos and submit them anywhere they like as RM day and daily. Likewise if you were going to visit your friend in LA.
I remember it being asked for a previous 'lypse and echodelta said she was going to investigate, but I missed the conclusion.
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Never heard about this politic. Obviously, if you take photos in LA on your own, or using your own models and your own MR for these models, you can upload these photos wherever you want.
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Never heard about this politic. Obviously, if you take photos in LA on your own, or using your own models and your own MR for these models, you can upload these photos wherever you want.
Of course, but again that's too logical for iS.
There was at least one official lypse (Tokyo*, I think) where iS made that a rule. At the next one the rule was retained, and questioned, but I missed the official answer.
*Tokyo was a slightly different 'lypse, as it was much more heavily subsidised than others before or since.
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Never heard about this politic. Obviously, if you take photos in LA on your own, or using your own models and your own MR for these models, you can upload these photos wherever you want.
Except you couldn't, at least with the existing policy.
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I think it was just easier to say that if you came to the Lypse all shots taken during the event are part of the lypse, I can't remember all the details now but I think they stepped back on that requirement didn't they?
I thought they had not stepped back, but wondered if I'd missed a post.
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I did.
Im not going to pay them 85% commission to piss on me.
And that in ways I couldnt imagine.
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a few posts removed.
Please refrain from personal insults.
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a few posts removed.
Please refrain from personal insults.
I didnt insult anyone, also what is wrong with my post about IS being like NK? If you remove that comment, you can remove half of this forum. IMO.
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a few posts removed.
Please refrain from personal insults.
I didnt insult anyone, also what is wrong with my post about IS being like NK? If you remove that comment, you can remove half of this forum. IMO.
I removed your post because that is what started the whole back and forth spat. It didn't add any crucial info to the conversation and as bringing in political debate to a thread always ends in trouble I thought it was best to remove it as well.
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Fair enough. Understood and Thanks.
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Never heard about this politic. Obviously, if you take photos in LA on your own, or using your own models and your own MR for these models, you can upload these photos wherever you want.
Except you couldn't, at least with the existing policy.
Not in the Lypses where I have been. Never signed nothing like that. I read what I sign. But well, I wasn't in Tokyo, I haven't been in any USA Lypse, maybe in these ones people signed different documents.
Maybe a differen thing would be if Administrators or Inspectors get travel expenses paid. I really don't know.
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There was nothing signed. It was just a rule.
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There was nothing signed. It was just a rule.
So, it must be a quite recent rule, but not retroactive. (And yes, I had to sign at least at two Lypses)
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Started with Tokyo, and was slated to also be for the Milanlypse. That's when it was questioned, but I don't know, or can't remember, the outcome.