Hi Peter - are you opted into the partner program on iStock? if so, then you are on Thinkstock and photos.com....you have to select opt out from the drop down in your contributor preferences on iStock. Thinkstock and photos.com are subs sites now owned by Getty. you should read the iStock forums dude ;-)

I go and opt out. But every time I go back to the page the check box is ticked again.

Please forgive an obvious question - but where has the Control Panel on Istock gone?  I can't find it to see if I am opted in or not...

From the F5 BUG REPORTING / KNOWN ISSUES thread on Istock.

Saving Preferences (The old Control Panel)
Certain preferences aren't saving reliably for some people, including the Adult Content filter and the Promotional Uses opt-out.

http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=240682&page=1

Thanks a lot Cathy.  Wow, you practically need a map to find out now!  Mine is unchecked too.  And yes, they used to be separate. 

Thanks Packerguy, too, for explaining this is a known issue.  Pretty serious known issue!

Yeah I know. So user unfriendly. I have to scout around every time I want to send them an email, too. Or request a check.

I just went back and checked and my checkbox seems to be still be checked, but who knows how long it will last. Very serious known issue. This was a known issue before F5 and I can't believe it didn't get fixed this time around. People are still reporting that they have opted out of partner programs and yet images are being sold on Thinkstock. Some peoples whole port hasn't been sent over yet. What an utter fiasco and F5 didn't do a darn thing to correct any of it.

I'm not in either, but I was nosing around thinkstock, and no, the photographers name is no where, it just says what site the image came from. I definately feel for all of you having to deal with this!

Double post?

Just out of curiosity, I checked my preferences and noticed that in Preferences / My Uploads / File Collections / Manage Collections there's an "opt-in to Partner Program" checkbox which is checked, though I'm sure I didn't opt in when StockXpert was shut down.

OTOH, I checked several of my files (in Administration / Edit File Information) and they all seem to be opted-out with the following message :

You are currently opted-out from our Partner Program. If you would like the option to make this or other files available at certain Getty Images partner sites, you can open your Control Panel and check 'Opt-In to Partner Program'.

I'm not sure what's going on and whether I should change anything or just leave it as it is ?

Just out of curiosity, I checked my preferences and noticed that in Preferences / My Uploads / File Collections / Manage Collections there's an "opt-in to Partner Program" checkbox which is checked, though I'm sure I didn't opt in when StockXpert was shut down.

OTOH, I checked several of my files (in Administration / Edit File Information) and they all seem to be opted-out with the following message :

You are currently opted-out from our Partner Program. If you would like the option to make this or other files available at certain Getty Images partner sites, you can open your Control Panel and check 'Opt-In to Partner Program'.

I'm not sure what's going on and whether I should change anything or just leave it as it is ?

Thanks for posting that, I did not even think to look there. They have very neatly disguised these opt-ins and outs so that they can't be found. And guess what, I am opted back in for Partner Programs! I unchecked it to opt out. Went to another site, went back and it's clicked again. So I am experiencing that whole problem. See the bug reported earlier in this thread and posted by packerguy.

Weird.  I never closed my account or deleted anything from StockXpert but I am not in the partner program and none of my images are on TS or Photos.com

I don't have any images on Thinkstock, I deleted all of my files from StockXpert right after it closed because I didn't want anything of mine migrating over to TS. Now I check my settings on iStock - and I'm opted in for the partner program! You can uncheck the box, but as soon as you take another look, the box is checked again! So I'm having the same problem that many others have reported, too.

There was a bug discovered a few days after the launch of F5 by which we all show as being opted in to the PP, and can't seem to uncheck the box. However, to find out if any of your images are actually in the PP, you should go to Thinkstock and search on your real name (registered on iStock). My opt-in box is checked :-(, but I have no images showing on Thinkstock :-).
This has been reported on at least two istock threads (first announced on the Push for Gold thread, when the discoverer posted to see if anyone else was getting it, then got a thread of its own.
http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=246012&page=1
However, a further complication is the issue that people who actually WANT their images in the PP  are finding that they don't show up in there for weeks - in fact AFAICS, there isn't any evidence that recent pics 'sent' to the PP are appearing there at all. Where recent = a couple of months at least.
http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=246142&page=1
So, worth keeping a watching brief.

could some of you explain to me why are you opted out of the partner program.
I have just checked and my images aren�t there, in thinkstock at least. But now i wonder why shouldn�t i opt in, i was a contributor in StockXpert and i am right now contributing in other sites as well, so my images are available in many sites, what would be the reason not to sell in thinkstock too? is just a matter of the price or comission they sale, or is it because you think it would damage your sales at istock? Thank you in advance for your opinion.
Bte

^^^They pay the lowest subs commissions and charge their buyers the same as other sites that pay me much more.  If I accept the lowest commission with them, why will other sites pay me more?  They have much less costs, as the images have already been reviewed.  They should be able to match or exceed the $0.38 I get with shutterstock.  If they had a similar system, where commissions increased with downloads, I would use them but they don't.

They also have images they own outright and those appear first in the search, I don't want to use a site that does that.  Then there is the advertising to persuade buyers to move from istock, I don't want them to do that.  So many reason and I am sure I could think of more if it wasn't sunny outside.

Nicely summed up Sharpshot.  I will add that it was particularly nasty (and shortsighted!) of them to lower the subscription payments they were already making at StockXpert from .30 to .25.  It felt like a slap in the face. 

Also, consider the fact that there is no instant reporting of sales, and the payouts for people opted in are getting pushed farther and father back...  It all adds up to a clear message that the masterminds behind Thinkstock hold contributors in contempt. 

Ok, thank you for the info. It�s hard to follow this allways changing microworld when you don�t do this as a daily basis, and when you have to read every news in foreign lenguage.
Thank�s for summit up for me.
BTW i�m not going that road either.

could some of you explain to me why are you opted out of the partner program.
I have just checked and my images aren�t there, in thinkstock at least. But now i wonder why shouldn�t i opt in, i was a contributor in StockXpert and i am right now contributing in other sites as well, so my images are available in many sites, what would be the reason not to sell in thinkstock too? is just a matter of the price or comission they sale, or is it because you think it would damage your sales at istock? Thank you in advance for your opinion.
Bte

I put old, low-selling photos in when the program started, but after that breach of trust when they had told us they were going after 'new customers' (hinted: poaching SS's customers), they emailled all their biggest buyers and suggested they take out TS subscriptions, bizarrely encouraging iStock's best customers to ditch iStock. I opted out as soon as I heard about that. Insanity.

Quote from: sharpshot on August 31, 2010, 09:23

^^^They pay the lowest subs commissions and charge their buyers the same as other sites that pay me much more.  If I accept the lowest commission with them, why will other sites pay me more?  They have much less costs, as the images have already been reviewed.  They should be able to match or exceed the $0.38 I get with shutterstock.  If they had a similar system, where commissions increased with downloads, I would use them but they don't.

They also have images they own outright and those appear first in the search, I don't want to use a site that does that.  Then there is the advertising to persuade buyers to move from istock, I don't want them to do that.  So many reason and I am sure I could think of more if it wasn't sunny outside.

Nicely summed up Sharpshot.  I will add that it was particularly nasty (and shortsighted!) of them to lower the subscription payments they were already making at StockXpert from .30 to .25.  It felt like a slap in the face. 

Also, consider the fact that there is no instant reporting of sales, and the payouts for people opted in are getting pushed farther and father back...  It all adds up to a clear message that the masterminds behind Thinkstock hold contributors in contempt. 

Gee, that really sounds like a description of the entire Istockphoto organization. Yes, I know -lots of people like them and make plenty of money there- but they really do have an arrogant side to them that has been refined and honed and turned into - thinkstock.  There isn't much that any of us can do about it, but it certainly adds a great deal of weight to the "NO" side of the exclusivity debate. I tried to opt out of the partner program repeatedly to no avail, and finally, after some strongly worded letters regarding my rights under the copyright laws, got a reply from them saying that they were entitled to sell my images for 6 months from the request date, and they were going to do so right up to the last second. And that's true, they can.
I owned the Getty stock from the day they went public many years ago, and sadly, right up to the time they took the company private in buyout that grossly undervalued the company.( proving that you should never own the stock of a company where one family holds a controlling interest).
 Thinkstock is a very good way of generating short term profits at the expense of long term damage to the supplier base. This would not make sense for a company being managed for the long term, but it makes perfect sense for a company being groomed for an IPO. The private equity firm holding this company only wants to turn this around at a profit, and if burning bridges to maximize short term profits does that, then that's what they will do. It's the best explanation, at least in my opinion, of why thinkstock was created, why StockXpert was bought , and why they would take the risk of alienating a large group of contributors. Thinkstock is going to be very strong for a year or two, and it will be done on the backs of the contributors who signed on to istock in good faith. All the costs of developing the current group of images that exists on thinkstock was amortized by StockXpert and istock. The only real cost associated with thinkstock is advertising, which is pretty cheap right now. ( and the ads are everywhere!).
Having said that, if Getty does go public again, i would probably still buy it, because even with the damage this group of managers has done to the brand, it's still the best company in the space.

Weird.  I never closed my account or deleted anything from StockXpert but I am not in the partner program and none of my images are on TS or Photos.com

Same here

Despite the prevailing shitstorm iS seems to have removed all my images off Thinkstock that ended up there via StockXpert as promised.