Shutterstock and Offset SUCK!

you're spot on! I was trying to say something along the same lines -- in this case limited to Offset only, I know , strange for me ;) on the background of some of my other posts here --, giving some reasons the moderators of this oh-so "politically correct" group here apparently didn't like. Apparently, one must not have any opinion of one's own, and one most not think at all, else...

So my post was removed without giving any reason nor communication about it. Silently at that, as if nobody noticed, what a bunch of cowards. Very "nice" and also telling as to some people's political culture, thank-you-very-much. So again, I fully agree with your opinion, @MisterElemnts. Trying to voice my support for your point of view again here.

Quote from: r2d2 on November 14, 2015, 17:00

Quote from: Firewall on November 14, 2015, 16:52

Quote from: Microstockphoto on November 14, 2015, 16:34

They were in no way related to refugees.

2 of them were registered as such

Syriens that escaped from IS do attacks in the name of IS?
Please stop talking nonsense.

You don't seem to understand. At least two of the perpetrators were posing as refugees in order to gain access to Europe, but they were in fact IS fighters. It's a fact. They came in by boat via Greece and were actually registered there as refugee.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/14/us-france-shooting-greece-idUSKCN0T312W20151114#ZWXWb3Yt8sAkXiqm.97

while these details may or may not be true, quoting Reuters, OF ALL "SOURCES", to kind-a "prove" something to be a fact is a very bad idea: Reuters is an integral -- as in very central! -- part of that group of global companies that those "suppliers of arms" (quoted elsewhere in this thread) belong to.

Just saying...

-

[yikes -- can't delete, sorry]

You'll now see articles like The Heady Rise of Republicunus Erectus and Why All Other Species are Inferior

Did it ever occur to anyone here that all species not dancing with the brain-dead bi-partisan cacophony are "inferior"? Apparently not.

So everyone here seems to think NPR or HuffPost would be better for NG?! And back we are in that old black-and-white thinking again. I thought, we are grown-ups here, seriously, and are also capable of understanding a bit more of the news than the mainstream mass-media boneheads usually give us. Not? Must still be a matter of Republicans or Democrats for some. Very disappointing.

The REAL problem is that they've been sold AT ALL! Let us watch and see how that one turns out...

Bunch of crooks. But it doesn't surprise me; Iran is a horribly corrupted country with a complete lack of ethics and total disregard for any kind of (human) rights.

sorry, but that is what the Cartel-led U. S. and Western mass media are telling us -- it is NOT TRUE though as far as the Persian population is concerned (and they are not the ones responsible for government human-rights abuses over there). Only this fact is not reported...

Yes, I fully agree that the Iranian government (and that includes clerics who always have the last say in that strange "system" over there) are totally out there -- and yes, your allegations as to corruption and complete lack of ethics are very well justified if THE OFFICIAL part of the country is what you direct this at! (But then again, the U. S. government and overall D. C. or "District of Criminals" and the bi-partisan mafia running the U. S. isn't any better, as all of us can see in real life every day.) So I am fully on the same page as yourself when it comes to the "Iranian state" and its lack of civilization and legal remedies for us outsiders or "infidels" but kindly phrase this in a way that makes it clear that the people in Persia are human beings too and that over 680 million of them have not stolen our pictures -- and they, too, have the morale and high ethics of most ordinary people.

Only that Persians have to live under a regime that does not allow them to translate their demands into "outputs of a political system" -- i. e. this is a BAD POLITICAL SYSTEM. But even in this respect, is the U. S. any better where constitutionally-minded people doing the right thing cannot make their beliefs count anymore and where a fake character becomes president (is he "more legitimate" than the other guy in Iran or Mr Assat in Syria -- at all)??

In this day and age, we should be getting used to differentiating between the "man in the street" and the crooks in charge at the administrative and government levels.

I would not want to make this more "political" and off-topic here, just let me say that we need to deal with this copyright infringement without what your average world-improver and progressive U. S. citizen would call hate speech or a "hate crime" in today's speak of "political correctness". We better focus on what little tools we have (lacking that DMCA rubbish that is in itself highly questionable anyway) and do this in a professional and more business-like way.

Off the top of my head, I am not sure if Iran is even a signatory or member of WIPO at all. So there we go.

Therefore, starting with finding some "vulnerability" at the ISP level would be a first.

I like what I'm getting from VideoBlocks so far.   :)

It's possible that VideoBlocks become #1 earner sometime next year.

Power of 100% royalty commission is real!

by far the best for me -- Videoblocks are surprisingly surpassing well-established Shutterstock by lenghts. Could it be they are very successfully pitching our content to prospective buyers? SS aren't even producing ANY sales for me for some time no; that despite their "size" and general market "standing" and despite the additional little fact of me having more clips up there than on VB*); very strange.

Similar trend for me in stills, BTW, where the #4 and "lowest top-performer" DT are leading the bunch for me, again not by just a small margin. (Maybe it is just me, or the overall stats aren't that reliable. Anyway, strange again.)

And yes, the early-bird 100% payout on VB, even if limited in duration, is another feature I like -- very much :)

---

*) and in case anyone is wondering: no, I am not posting my stuff using that turn-off username of mine over there -- no worries here, so that can't be it either...

Quote from: Titus Livius on July 08, 2015, 02:31

Quote from: StockPhotosArt on July 07, 2015, 16:15

The strength of Europe has always been the diversity, the different successful paths explored by different nations which would serve as an example to other nations to improve themselves.

Looking at the history of Europe we can find in each century a different nation pushing the continent forward, and that was what put us in the vanguard of so many things. Many bad things have happened, but the positive ones are HUGE, from technological advances to the humanitarian concepts.

This monolithic, centralized, bureaucratic, opaque and anti-democratic organization that the EU has become is killing all of this and that is the reason why we are falling behind.

yes and yes !

the EU is killing our core identity and our soul.
europe has NEVER been united into a monolithic bloc in the last 3000 yrs and for very good reasons.

what we're witnessing now is a horrible social engineering experiment on our skin and of course it's miserably failing.

you just can't turn greece or poland into germany or viceversa, no matter what the eurocrats smoked, it's just not that easy to turn us into a bunch of zombies and drones.

the only way to make permanent changes is to give real benefits, not to make our life worse than before.
an alliance of small states can only work if everyone has something to gain, now instead everyone is losing and told to shut the F up.

Sorry, but that is just too funny. The EU is not trying to turn any country into Germany. It tries or wants to make things better and easier

http://econ.economicshelp.org/2007/03/benefits-of-european-union.html

Lets not forget, all countries using the Euro agreed to the terms to join. No one was forced into joining. Its still a democracy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Referendums_related_to_the_European_Union#Euro  *)

you DID forget though that GOVERNMENTS ONLY agreed to join the Euro: not a single EMU member country asked the electorate, only the latter would be fit for a "democracy" in my book!

What a pathetic understanding of "democracy". I bet almost losing Freedom of Panorama courtesy to your great EU bureaucrats out there would also be part of that marvellously "democratic" C'est la vie we would have had to take?

"The EU (...) make(s) things better and easier" -- as in outlawing Open Source software (we fought against this in 2005 and won), or as in forcing a Monsanto-style Seed Cartel down our throats outlawing organic home-growing in one's backyard (we fought against this last year and won, for the time being at least -- until that "democratic EU" forces us into CETA and TTIP the terms of which are negotiated over the electorates' heads, secretly and fully "democratically" behind closed doors), or as in now building that "European Army" I am sure every good anti-war activist plus collectivist world-improver really wants, or as in the ongoing "Digital-Goods VAT" mess that's killing Freelance and Arts Businesses all over the place (people are hurting left, right, and centre so I believe it is very cruel to tell Eurocrats are here to make things "better and easier")! Some photographer you are, the business part inseparably belongs to being one.

Seriously, what have you been smoking, and how deep asleep are you, indeed?! That "perfect world" you apparently (and, don't get me wrong, understandably) dream of is taken away and destroyed by your very heroes ALL THE TIME and, curiously, ON ANY OCCASION they bloody-can-find.

So experience and real-life facts clearly tell us time and again we should not support, let alone pay for, that kind of "Europe" -- not on the 800th anniversary of Magna Charta at that. Let 's not forget that one either ;)

---

*) **do note** that the Treaty of Maastricht is on creating an overall "Union" (that no one in their right mind could want), not primarily some currency with an outrageingly stupid name. You may also be surprised to learn that each and every single one asked if they wanted the Euro turned it down (even collectivist, super-progressive Sweden rejected the thing)...

I am interested in amateur with small drones, the price of a quality system is around thousands of dollars and it is not very easy to use, so we must need to care this devices...

here is an angry people example...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRXM0DjRJDc

yes, you're totally right, quality systems are -- or rather start at a minimum of -- a thousand dollars. This space needs to be watched closely though if you're interested in getting into this more thoroughly. The better part of the cost is due to the electronic stabilizers a. k. a. "gimbals" that are needed with any useful AP/V multicopter.

If you want to seriously try it out, you should not get any of DJI's expensive ones outright though. You're totally right, if you crash that (or get caught in an "angry person situation") this is going to be an expensive lesson. Equally for the "flying lessons" part of your journey: you do not want to take them on a Jaguar or Mercedes convertible either. There are VERY reasonable and stable-flying designs coming out by the week now, mainly really-cheap but proven quadcopter camera platforms you can buy here or even something like this from China outright, sometimes even with free shipping and stuff)! These reasonably flying models can then be equipped with a "gimbal" and one of those Gopro-clone cameras one Aussie friend of mine calls "Nopros" :) now and then taken to the test right away: learning to fly, finding out if one gets it at all, learning to mix Aerial with more down-to-earth (tripod-ed) footage, familiarizing yourself with the basics of that kind of cinematography, and so on.

No one has a good time watching the ugly footage of some fisheyed Gopro strapped to a racing quadcopter doing aerobatics or anything, https://youtu.be/1_SQ2zqsqVE! Neither is Aerial-only filming what you want (or anyone else, for that matter; think of your audience/apply what goes for any other kind of imagery as well). Produce good footage, mix it freely, study the results you come up with -- all for like $250 to $550 maybe. Only THEN flash out a Grand or more if it has to be a highly proprietary turn-key item like the "Phantom 3 Advanced" at all (forget about the latest so-called 2.7K "Phantom Standard" model they're touting now, unless you want to increase that "exploration budget" of yours, as above, to the full-fledged $850 level which would be a bit too much for my taste though)...

After educating yourself the way described above, you might as well want to skip the entire Phantom-level altogether and go for a real (Hexa- or Octo-) copter instead that can carry a mirrorless MFT, BMPCC, or "real" DSLR camera instead of that Gopro junk (which is basically only a Toys-for-Boys gadget). The "real" frames for Pros start around $900 to $1500 (a bare-bones Tarot frame *much lower* than that!) and need not necessarily be much more expensive than DJI's prosumer models.

To pick up on the headline, this is what I would call "drone-smart" :)

Quote from: stuttershock on September 15, 2015, 12:32

this is hilarious -- thanks for sharing this one!!

Would be interesting to find out if they are just "trying to be clever" by pretending to know nothing -- or if they really are that flat-out stupid at that "great" VK site. Ouch.

There is more.
After insisting, they actually asked me to physically send, by regular mail, the material proof, certified by a notary,  to some (black hole?) address in Sankt Petersburg.

This is a mockery, indeed!


Hello, ....!

Sorry for the late response.
VK.com, as the administrator of the social network VKontakte, takes intellectual property and means of individualization very seriously.

For the purpose of adequate protection of your rights, please provide with the following:

1. An official request on your behalf - a copy of this should be attached to this post and the original must be sent to the following address: 191040, Russian Federation, Saint Petersburg, Ligovsky prospect, bld. 61, 8th floor.

The request must contain:
- Name or title of the copyright holder
- Name of the object or product
- Links to the illegal content placed on the site
- A link to the user who posted the content
- Documentary evidence of the applicant's right to the work/product

2. Documents confirming the right to the product(s), as well as power of attorney to represent the interests of the copyright holder (if applicable).

The confirming documents could be, for example:

- Raw materials (digital, paper, etc.) that appear in the process of creating the work.
- A copy certified by a notary of the text, musical notation, etc.
- Other materials (at the discretion of the authors).

After receiving and examining all the information you have sent we will do our best to protect your product(s) from its illegal use on our website.

Sincerely,
VK Support Team
Jan 18, 2013 at 11:49 pm|You disliked this answer

P.S
I looked up the address and I found:
Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts
Ligovsky Ave, 61
St Petersburg
Russia
191040

and as you can see on Google Streets, the building doesn't have an 8th floor

-- which pretty much proves that they know exactly what the real "rights situation" was right from the start! What a disgusting way of doing business, I've seen that before: it's a lot like the equally-incompetent Swedish approach next door; they also start "explaining why this should be right" every time there is a problem (you may think of Facebook what you want -- and I don't think of them too highly -- but at least they do better in comparison and seem to comply with international business etiquette)!

Quote from: Semmick Photo on May 26, 2015, 14:30

Marriage has nothing to do with being parents. Just saying.

From the C of E marriage service:
"The gift of marriage brings husband and wife together
in the delight and tenderness of sexual union
and joyful commitment to the end of their lives.
It is given as the foundation of family life
in which children are [born and] nurtured
and in which each member of the family,in good times and in bad,
may find strength, companionship and comfort,
and grow to maturity in love."

OK, I don't care what the Church says about anything, but if marriage isn't about children what is it about? Getting God's blessing on your personal shacking-up arrangments?

I really don't understand what the passion for being allowed to be classed as married is if the legal status is identical with civil unions, which are already available.

it must, then, be about progressivism never stopping and about shaking all foundations of everything for trouble-making's sake -- and exactly so it seems in our day and age with all the "Love" Parades and rubbish wherever you go.

Congrats Noedelhap!

Cobalt has got the general idea here. That said, I totally understand the nickel-and-dime feel that comes from these third-party processes. We've negotiated where possible to keep the fees as low as possible, and as we keep growing we'll do what we can to make things even better.

the fault certainly isn't on the agency's part here anyway -- it's rather a problem with the general banking system and, actually, one that goes back to biblical times as money exchangers have been on record for ripping off people since Jesus' days (I mean, literally)...

As Bitcoin has been discussed elsewhere on MSG, all this is actually a good hint at what Bitcoin along with selected other Crypto coins can do for Microstockers (as well as a host of other people on the planet dependent on worldwide payments). Maybe that real innovators might want to consider going in this direction as well? Would be a good fit for VideoBlocks' concept (even when the initial 100% times are up) and would be interesting to hear from you, @Zach, if VideoBlocks can see themselves adding BTC, DOGE, Peercoin, Mintcoin, or litecoins etc one day?

We're not talking "Bitcoin as an instrument for sepculation" here but Bitcoin as a tool for innovation (so it's not about BTC to USD rates but rather about **free, secure transactions** and worldwide free transmission of value).

Bitcoin in a nutshell.

Bitcoin started as a decentralized alternative currency.On paper it sounded as socialistic or anarchistic as a currency could get. (same as with all other e-coins)
In reality it has become clear now that it is nothing more that another pyramidic sort of scheme,meaning that if you got early on it and jumped out early you propably made money.
If not ,well, you are another sucker.

Mining and production of bitcoins follows a curve,this is the core of its function from the day it was conceptualized, meaning that less and less bitcoins will be produced over time or better yet,that it is becoming more expensive,time and energy consuming to mine bitcoins.At this point it is almost impossible to mine a single coin.

Also the vast majority of bitcoins are held by the first ones that mined them,most of the bitcoins belong to an elite -you could say- that apparently manipulate it like every enlightened elite feels like it should  (remember the boost of price 1-2 years ago? ),so if you take all these into account i dont see what is there that can be beneficial at all for everyone else.

And good luck buying groceries with bitcoin.

good luck buying groceries with dollars or euroes once THEIR bubbles burst (which will happen as soon as the madmen at the helm at central banks run out of ideas, or steam, or staying power, and are swamped by the markets). Only then will the jury be in on Bitcoin and Alt coins etc as well.

Bitcoin and other P2P Crypto coins are NOT to be evaluated by their price either, but it is about the concept of transaction-free worldwide transmission of value. And THAT might very well help ANY MICROSTOCKER out there because, if I am not mistaken, they are (quite rightly) whining about excessive fees -- as in 10.1% cuts they have to swallow, see right here on MSG: http://www.microstockgroup.com/videoblocks/transaction-fees/msg0/?topicseen#new -- on top of cut-throat agency commissions and competition and that resulting misery.

This is exactly why Bitcoin and Crypto coins will be interesting for us here!

Bitcoin & P2P Crypto coins are also a disruptive technology bringing about overall DECENTRALISATION just like the internet itself did when TCP/IP was invented by Tim Berners-Lee. This is all part of our recent and technological history that Microstock itself is only a part (or by-product) of. It all integrates perfectly with underlying internet and "new economy" technology, and Bitcoin does to an even larger extent!

So, yes, Bitcoin & other (selected) Crypto coins (not each and every one of them, of course) will help going "Indie" in more than one way.