Copyright: Please note that the images that appear within my site are copyrighted. They may be downloaded for personal use without restriction (for example, you can to use one for computer wallpaper, print one out for a scrapbook or to hang on your wall, etc). If you would like to use an image for commercial purposes, please send E-mail to Joe Roberts. In most cases I will allow use of the images. For example, I've had requests to use images in things like school and educational material, public domain CD ROM collections, flyers, magazines, etc. Truthfully, if someone were to use an image commercially without consent I'd probably not find out about it and even if I did there is not much I could do about it. However, I am hoping that the etiquette and mutual respect of the professional community will mean that no issues will come up!
Use of images on other web sites: In looking at web statistics for my pages, I have noted that there are a fair number of my images being used on other webpages (in almost all cases without consent). The problem is this: these web sites, instead of taking the image and loading it onto their own server, are simply putting a link in their code that causes the image to download from my server. The issue I have with this tactic is that it uses up (limited) bandwidth that I pay money for. What this means is that my bandwidth allocation could be used up by visitors to other web sites, and legitimate visitors to my site might not be able to access the site. The web statistic analyzer I use does provide me enough information to find out who is engaging in this practice (basically if I want to I can track down who is responsible)! Site operators who do this may not be aware of one key issue of this practice: I could at will mess up their site! I could simply upload a new image file (with the same name) that has content that is completely in appropriate for their site (for example, instead of a nice starry background, visitors to the site would see a backed-up toilet)! So, here is what I ask: For those who use one of my images on their site (without consent), PLACE IT ON YOUR SERVER, DO NOT HAVE CODE THAT SIMPLY LINKS TO MY IMAGE! Please adhere to this as it really is not that hard for me to figure out who is doing this. Also, for anyone who does this, be aware that it is ME (not the site operator) who controls what people see on that site! (In other words, I can alter what people see on your site as I see fit!)
For those who wish to use an image for their own site, all I ask is this:
Thank You!
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