Hi there,

I follow this thread with enthusiasm  and it will be a very good initiative if the plan for contributors' collective works.

I like FlemishDreams idea. If somehow CutCaster can be bought and turn it into a wikipedia-like site for image/vector repository, where contributors control and administer the content, QC, LCV, etc., in a fairly democratic way, then I think that's a good model. Passing a new rule about commission or exclusivity, for example, can be done through discussions and votes from all contributors. There might be some special contributors act as administrator (much like wikipedia) to control the debates, passing the policies, etc. Electing these administrators should also go through all contributors.

For the search engine, all metadata database should be set open for other people to develop. Much like wikimedia commons, where there are some other alternatives beside the default one, e.g., the mayflower search, or wikiwix search. If these metadata, including keywords, can be accessed freely, then I might want to try to develop a search engine for that to help buyers finding relevant images.

So it's basically an open site that is maintained, used and controlled from-and-by contributors only. Note that we still need to hire a few dedicated specialists, just like the Wikimedia Foundation which hire a lawyer, programmers and other clerks. We should then make, say, Microstock Foundation, as a non-profit organization that owns the site.

That's only my 2 cents, of course.

I like this google street view, too. For my summer vacation later, I have investigated where and how my hotels are with googlestreet already.

There was a funny event when the google car passed a girl and that girl flashed her boob. I guess it already picked up by google and removed that image.  You still can see the girl here: http://tinyurl.com/dzavut

Got email from Fotolia about this. Apparently FT splits now vectors into 3 levels:

Vectors Pricing Chart

In order to promote our vectors offer, we decided to modify the pricing structure for vector files. There are now 3 different price levels according to the complexity of the vector file. This complexity level will be appreciated by the Fotolia team.

Complexity level

There are now 3 complexity levels for vector files:

Basic vectors

Vector files with basic forms and effects (shadows, reflexions...).    
 
Detailed vector

Vectors representing a concrete subject (not a symbol or a standalone element) with several details and effects.    
 
Elaborate vector

Vectors representing a complete scene with a lot of detailed elements, effects and with a real creative touch.

So there are more levels for vector. The pricing chart for these type of vectors: basic = 4, detailed = 6, elaborate = 8.

did it pull keywords etc. from the jpeg?

No, it didn't.

I've been trying to upload a vector to Fotolia since yesterday. I was confused that I couldn't submit an EPS file. I thought it's because of inkscape, so I did try to save my SVG to AI with Illustrator CS3, but still Fotolia refused it.

Good that I found this thread, so I saved my AI to JPEG. Then I zipped both AI and JPEG files and submitted. It worked !!

But unfortunately all IPTC data from AI and JPEG were not pulled out automatically. I need to copy paste manually.