hmmm... now that I think about it. Perhaps Dreamstime infiltrated Istock and hatched this idea. Yep, it must be an evil plot by Dreamstime. No other rational explanation.

Oh crap, it will take a long time to adapt the old keywords to the new keywording system at iStock.

Phildate, I would advise you to wait until they put more choices in the definitions of keywords.  The photographer cannot add new definitions, only report them in the 'disambiguation' thread.  If you uncheck something which doesn't fit, the corresponding keywords will disappear.  There are hundreds of requests already, so it will take time and energy, since this step must be manually done by the admin.  The bottom line is, IS must have purchased a very bad translation search engine    but even with a better one, finding a meaning for every word or word association will create an intermediary filter which will make  most of the specific pictures less reachable by the designers.  For example ask a farmer from the midwest what a tassel here, and it's definitely not associated with curtains nor graduation hats!  The requests for new definitions are endless, so I see it as a true nightmare for the site, for the photographers, and for the designers to get a straightforward search.  It's definitely not a win-win situation for anyone, not in the short-term nor in the long-term.  And it will probablu give a boost to other stock sites, which may be good...

IS seems rather nonchalant about the whole situation. Or are they putting up a front, while frantically working behind the scenes?

No doubt this will affect the searches in the short term. Hopefully a solution or more support from IS is given to quickly resolve the situation, so in the long run, things can still get better. The whole idea is a positive move, I guess, but the execution needs some rectification.

My sales elsewhere have been pretty much the same, except SS, which registered my best Monday yet. Don't really think they are related, over the next couple of weeks will tell. Those with big portfolios will see the effect more easily.

Phil, sorry if I sounded too casual in my last posts. I hope you get it sorted out soon.

-ptlee-

I don't doubt that it will be good in the long term. It's just the way they go about it. All that bullsh*t Eff Kvin stuff, building up the anticipation only to find that it means 100hrs + work for me. Some warning of what is about to happen and some time to sort out files before it goes live to designers would have been the sensible thing. Now I have to cancel any weekend plans just to work on this.

How were everyone else's sales yesterday? Mine were only about 75% of a normal weekday. Today is really slow to start.

don't they have some sort of plan to fix it themselves... with a backup or something.

They can't expect people to go in and MANUALLY edit 1,000,000 images???

Sorry, but I think they do expect everyone to fix their own images.

It is simple, I did it for 5 images last night.  Just go to the bottom of the edit page and make sure they are assiging the correct meaning to each word.  Maybe add a few more while you are at it (like sexy, nude, female, woman, naked - haha).

 Problem is that it took say 2-5 minutes each so for me, it will take 3 hours and I only have a small portfolio.

Has anyone checked the iStock forum to see if the brainwashed supporters are saying

cool great yeah I get to keyword all over again

well done iStock what a great idea we do the majority of the work.

I have better and more productive things to do

bleachers: a typically roofless section of low-priced, tiered-seating, usually made of boards, especially at an athletic field or stadium.

Hey, thanks! You learn something every day.

Now I've got to learn a way of getting my keywords sorted on IS without spending the next couple of weeks at it!

Oh crap, it will take a long time to adapt the old keywords to the new keywording system at iStock.

Just looking at your top seller on istock...   One of the keywords is "Competition Judge" ! (It's a steel plate texture shot for those who havn't already looked) The rest of it isn't too bad..  ( http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup.php?id=689512 )

My top seller:  http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup.php?id=713262 has faired OK as well, although'Couch Potatoe' dosn't see quite right...

This one however: http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup.php?id=623957  " Flavored Ice" "Exploding" "Remote"  Urrr, Ummmm...  Ok.

Awww, crap... I'm not going to look at any more, I'm sure you're all doing the same thing.  I've just found some OK selling images that are totally stuffed up, and the site appears to to let you edit it propperly at the moment...  Hmmmm.

Off to bed, this is too much like watching a train crash..  'night.

oh why did i bother trying to get at least 25 keywords on each photo? heehee

i am just completely dumbfounded by this change. I understand the purpose and i admire it - i just am continuously amazed at the way IS implements (or should i say doesn't implement) things. If I were a buyer, I'd be really really concerned.

Count is up to 500+ questions since they posted the thread 'to answer all your questions'. Of course the threads with more pointed questions are already being locked. They still haven't answered the one about not accepting exif data which is the deal breaker for me.

And if it's 'simple' why don't they do it. We already did it once.

I sold a few there yesterday too. Only problem is, lately, I have been getting more $1 sales than .20. Yesterday, they were all .20.