FWIW Reading the source code the thumbnails and mouse-over images are pulled directly from iStock and not hosted on their server.

href="catalog/category/view/order/price/dir/asc/limit/all/id/3/?imageId=6608426&imageTitle=Abstract Waterfall">
            <img src="http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/6608426/1/" alt="Abstract Waterfall" onmouseover="showtrail('http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/6608426/2/','Abstract+Waterfall',' ','5.0000',

Quote from: Batman on October 07, 2011, 02:24

iStock is trying to help make the sales grow and you find flaw with that, just like always you people hate everything IS.

The moment I read the Plain English version of this initiative I immediately thought, pity the people already contributing in that niche and whatever gets put forward to the crowd as an area to shoot is a list of things NOT to shoot.

Lets say that an agency, any micro stock agency with tens of thousands of active contributors, says that there is a perceived need for more Dogs On Rollerskates images.

A handful of folk are making a significant income from a niche that they have some access, expertise and knowledge in. Rather than contact them and give extra art direction and advice thousands of other folk spend a few moments looking at existing Dogs On Rollerskates images and then sally forth to produce Xeroxes of them, pose reluctant smiling cats masquerading as dogs without the correct safety gear, etc.

The market is flooded with Dogs On Rollerskates, some of the new ones may be better than the existing ones but most are no better or even worse, the search results make it harder to find the work of those who know enough to produce the realistic Dogs On Rollerskates vibe, their income falls significantly, a few extra peoples income will rise marginally, the agency will maybe sell more and at a better cut to themselves and thus make more profit but the supply of Dogs On Rollerskates images is devalued to the point that it becomes unprofitable to those who look at it as a business. Thus lies the fundamental flaw in "crowd sourcing".

Quote from: holgs on September 28, 2011, 21:36

Quote from: leaf on September 28, 2011, 09:25

Quote from: Microbius on September 28, 2011, 08:59
We need a page on this forum with tables we can collectively keep updated

that's what the wiki is for...
http://wiki.microstockgroup.com/

Err.... the only info on there seems to be about an SEO company?!?

Another HackAttack it seems

Being in the "In Crowd"

Quote from: trek on September 22, 2011, 14:13

Quote from: gostwyck on September 22, 2011, 13:11
I can't see watching people taking photo's making prime-time viewing.

Mix in some love triangles, backstabbing, distraught models, losers being sent home with dreams crushed and a comic sleezeball or two.  Could work. 

Populated with some of the denizens of this forum it would be compulsive viewing.

Quote from: Microbius on September 22, 2011, 11:31
Sounds like they want exclusive stuff, also why does the site layout look pretty much identical to 123RF?

123RF USA
c/o Inmagine Corporation LLC
(EIN: 76-0749249)
Business Suites Uptown,
1330, Post Oak Blvd,
Suite 1600, Houston,
Texas 77056
USA

Quote from: Ed on September 19, 2011, 14:49
I don't think anybody knows the correct answer and we can all theorize.  I agree with the theory of the economy but I also have a theory that won't be favorable among some of the contributors here....

I think another part of the issue is that we are licensing images on a royalty free basis.  Major buyers (I'm not talking new users, casual users, or the local small business) have licensed our images on a royalty free basis and have built a library of those images that they will continue to use internally until they go out of style.  Under the license agreement, they can do this...and they do.  Various marketing departments of these companies have a library of these images that they are going to continue to use over and over again.

Undoubtedly iStock has tried its best at alienating both buyers and contributors, then add to this the "All you can eat" banquet of subscription selling which encourages the speculative buying of images that may not be needed for the current project but may useful for another one it is not difficult to imagine more and more buyers leaving iStock and adopting the subs model to assemble their own image bank over a short period of time that would 'satisfice' most of their requirements be recycling and combining, then withdraw from active purchasing.

Quote from: cclapper on September 17, 2011, 16:07

Quote from: lisafx on September 16, 2011, 16:07

Quote from: VB inc on September 16, 2011, 15:38
an excerpt from the documentary "Sicko"

Great movie.  A real eye-opener. 

I'd like to see that.

Hope you don't have too many eyelashes or you'll not be able to see it !

Quote from: leaf on September 01, 2011, 16:08

Quote from: thesentinel on September 01, 2011, 15:56
For an easy life I would suggest going for a host that offers a control panel that includes an easy installer ( such as "fantastico" ) for such things as wordpress, joomla, coppermine etc.

I've used Siteground with no problems.

I was happily using siteground until they all of a sudden one day just turn off MicrostockGroup because it was using too many resources.  So I upgraded my account, then a month later they turned off the site again saying I was using too many resources again.  It may have been true but it also felt like they were fishing formore $$.  I also didn't like that they just pulled the plug without prior warning or giving me a chance to upgrade before they pulled the plug.  I switched hosts after that.

Oh, you power user you ! Would that my sites be so bandwidth consuming !

For an easy life I would suggest going for a host that offers a control panel that includes an easy installer ( such as "fantastico" ) for such things as wordpress, joomla, coppermine etc.

I've used Siteground with no problems.

Quote from: madelaide on August 28, 2011, 19:50

Quote from: LesHoward on August 28, 2011, 15:34
How do you know the other person did not also purchase the same picture? - perhaps from a different agency.

That's what I was going to ask, given that the image is for sale as 123 and perhaps other agencies.

The bottom of the y from caspixels text is showing at the top of the other image as is the right hand side black border line.

Quote from: gioadventures on August 10, 2011, 09:51

Compared to the last week I'm loosing 50%.

Ditto

However I think that changes are much more frequent these days so no big panic yet.

Ah but all Swedes are divorced alcoholic depressives with diabetes and blonde hair. Well at least that's the way it seems in Wallender, so it must be true.

Where would we be if we always had to to pander to those "can't be bothered" - I think that says more about the OP than the posters he wishes to ignore.

Quote from: SNP on June 16, 2011, 05:39

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on June 16, 2011, 04:46
Yeah, I think that's a big reason. Most people have no idea or just don't think it's that big of a deal. That needs to change.

A friend of mine has a business partner who made the mistake of copying a Getty image. They went after her with a threat letter and invoice. They didn't tell me what it said but I'm guessing it was a pay-or-be-sued type of deal.

I would have guessed a 'cease and desist' rather than pay or be sued. they'd have to actually commit to taking someone to court to see any monetary compensation for usage.

Your guess is incorrect, certainly in the UK. I personally know of two clients who have received such letters from Getty both for over 1000 Gbp who paid up immediately. ( Not in relation to any work my company did by the way)

Whether the threats were enforceable was a risk they were not prepared to take, and many others do the same thing as a result of the publicity that surrounds these letters.  Google such terms as 'getty images scam' 'getty threatening letters'  'getty fsb'. The FSB is the Federation of Small Businesses and has been covering this topic for many years.

Here's an example of the sort of publicity Getty letter receive:

http://copyrightaction.com/forum/the-real-cost-of-being-sued-by-getty

Getty going after small legitimate businesses and gaining publicity for copyright issues is one thing but I doubt such education reaches or effects the actions of the bulk of the unlawful users of images that these google searches will unearth. And I also wonder whether actual copyright owners get the recovered amounts from those that pay.

Quote from: webbing on May 30, 2011, 19:17

I don't get it, #1 and #2 were both shot on a tripod

At those shutter speeds, which are so low because you used f22 needlessly, the vibration caused by the mirror slapping and your manual activation of the shutter  could be enough to cause blur. When slow shutter speeds are needed by necessity due to low light mirror lock up and a cable release would be used to minimise blur from camera shake.

Quote from: Slovenian on May 26, 2011, 17:27
Even more sad is when I read Lobo is good compared to (some nickname I forget) that used to do what Lobo does now. So everything is just fine, righ?

Peebert was his name.

He set the tone that Lobo seems to aspire to. How any client facing organisation would tolerate such behaviour has always been a mystery to me.
It is indeed a great shame that the only remaining vestage of 'the good old days' is the way that the forums are moderated. Oh that Rob Sylvan would have stayed.

Quote from: lagereek on May 25, 2011, 15:22

Quote from: thesentinel on May 25, 2011, 14:43

Quote from: lagereek on May 25, 2011, 12:44

Quote from: thesentinel on May 25, 2011, 11:58
Can you please explain just how this might in any way be the "biggest site in the world"?

An initial question, If they are "sick and tired of the "low-quality"  being offered at the moment" why would they, at not inconsiderable cost, set up an agency to share "higher quality" with the rest of the world?

What a great site this is for tea break humour !

Nah!  sorry pal, I meant macDonalds,  yeah thats it, the hamburger joint, you know the one?  they are starting a site, yeah thats it. Maybe thats easier to grasp and digest for you.

Awaiting your next hyperbolic thread with interest.

Abzee!  frankly,  you are beginning to sound exactly the way you sound on the IS forum, I can appreciate business is bad, so on and so forth but man!  you sound bitter both here and there.

snap out of it. please.

Bitter?! I'm finding this highly amusing and derive great enjoyment from your posts.

Quote from: lagereek on May 25, 2011, 12:44

Quote from: thesentinel on May 25, 2011, 11:58
Can you please explain just how this might in any way be the "biggest site in the world"?

An initial question, If they are "sick and tired of the "low-quality"  being offered at the moment" why would they, at not inconsiderable cost, set up an agency to share "higher quality" with the rest of the world?

What a great site this is for tea break humour !

Nah!  sorry pal, I meant macDonalds,  yeah thats it, the hamburger joint, you know the one?  they are starting a site, yeah thats it. Maybe thats easier to grasp and digest for you.

Awaiting your next hyperbolic thread with interest.

Can you please explain just how this might in any way be the "biggest site in the world"?

An initial question, If they are "sick and tired of the "low-quality"  being offered at the moment" why would they, at not inconsiderable cost, set up an agency to share "higher quality" with the rest of the world?

What a great site this is for tea break humour !

Quote from: lagereek on May 21, 2011, 06:51
we keep each other up to date with lousy things and happenings, so we might as well report something on the positive scale as well. Yesterday, Friday, was a really good day, for once, not back to normal but a good day, for P+ and other files.

Have we recieved a best match boost?  or was it just luck?

Whatever it was it won't last long now you've posted on how to make the best type of image in your niche

Quote from: microstockphoto.co.uk on May 05, 2011, 18:54

Quote from: jsnover on May 05, 2011, 17:39
"the PNG, (portable network graphics) format. Its big advantage compared with JPEG: it supports an "alpha" channel that lets designers mark parts of the overall image as transparent."

thanks, but no need for an alpha channel: seeing from sales stats, all of my pictures there are already transparent and invisibile to buyers lately  

ROFL
( in a sad way )

Quote from: madelaide on May 03, 2011, 11:01
With the world's perhaps largest lithium reserves found in Afghanistan, I doubt US troops will leave.

Lithium you say, that'll be handy medication for some folk!

I've not being doing much stock for the past year or so whilst I'd devoted my 'spare' time to the rock band I sort of manage ( Pallas )  when we'd been recording and designing the stuff for the new album which was released earlier in the year. Now we're gigging again and just spent a quick 2 days in Germany and The Netherlands.

It was a fun thing to find Lisa's work advertising a Seniors Dance Cafe at the old industrial buildings converted into a cultural centre at the Zeche Carl venue in we played at in Essen.

Being in the stock community, even with all our differences and sometimes heated debate we are lucky to be united by the constant possibility of seeing our work in action almost anywhere in the world.

And, to use a word I seldom do, that's pretty awesome.

Here's a montage of that weird juxtaposition, and having some non stock fun with my cameras and lenses including the miraculously insane and cheap Samyang 8 mm and the quick and easy, but non stock quality in-built sweep panorama in the Sony A55 !

Quote from: ShadySue on April 12, 2011, 09:37

I took out my third support ticket on this very issue in early Feb and am waiting for a reply. The previous two said they were having problems getting them to me (that my email address was wrong). BUT their replies found my inbox, as do auto replies, payment notifications etc. After my second email, I did get some; three of everything for a couple of months then nada.
I looked at the site map and 'couldn't look for seeing' (probably) where the newsletters are, as I remember you can view them online. Can someone point me in the right direction, please? Tx

They are searchable under Participate > Articles and select Newsletter,  but that's only any use if you know what the latest newsletter is about !